Even The Cold Burns
by KittenTits
Summary: COMPLETE - YAOI - After returning from the Land of Water, Naruto is harassed by Gaara and goes to Sasuke for help. Multiple endings!
1. Prologue

disclaimer : we do not own Naruto. *both bow* All we own the few issues of Shonen Jump that have been released so far.  
  
A/N : Rin: This here is gonna be.... a tab bit odd. We just came up with the idea, like, a whole 2 minutes ago. Yami jumped at it (literally) and so we decided to write it.  
  
Yami Rin: You see, this fic is a major angst fic (YESSSS!!!! XD!!!) and it WILL be just a little bit on the weird side. Oh, just as a note, we've only read the manga up to the end of the second stage of the Chunin exam and we've only seen up to the start of the second stage of the Chunin (is that spelled right?) exam in the anime. I think....  
  
Rin: Yes, that IS all that we've seen (unfortunately). So, pwease, don't mind it. The thing is, we're gonna change the storyline, (just a little!!) and we wanna know how good we've managed to do that without completely screwing over the beautiful reputation of Naruto. We know about the different characters pretty well, so I don't think we'll do THAT bad of a job. I hope...... ^_^;  
  
Yami Rin: Anyway, ON WITH THE FIC!!!! XDDDDDDDD!!!!!!  
  
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Summary: Naruto is harassed by Gaara one day. Over the course of the following week, the panda-eyed boy doesn't let up, and is scaring Naruto just a little. Naruto goes to Sasuke, for an UNKNOWN (***!!!HINT!!!HINT!!!***) reason.  
  
Things to know: 1) The authoresses are crazy 2) Naruto will be acting like a little girl in this fic (maybe) 3) {blah blah} = author's notes 4) "blah blah" = speech 5) A lot of, /////'s = change of scene, or end of chapters  
  
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WARNING!!!!!!!!!: THIS FIC WILL CONTAIN SHONEN AI IN LATER CHAPTERS!!! FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS, IT'S 'BOY LOVE'!!!!!!! SASUNARU AND ONE SIDED GAARA/NARUTO!!!!!!!!! WILL ALSO CONTAIN KAKAIRU!!!! MAYBE SOME GRAPHIC STUUF, TOO!!!!!!!!  
  
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A/N : Rin: This is gonna be from Naruto's POV.  
  
Yami Rin: Just this chapter though. The whole fic is gonna have a whole lotta switched around POV's. Just so you wonderful readers don't get confused, we'll tell ya who's narrating. M'kay? 'Kay!!  
  
Rin: o.O; Yami, you're starting to sound like me.... and that's scary...  
  
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My Odd New Attempt at Writing a Naruto Fic by rin lockheart and Yami Rin  
  
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Prologue  
  
[Naruto's POV]  
  
Gaara. The freak boy from the Sand Continent. The one with the screwed up eyes, crimson hair, and symbol on his forehead. That's all he was to me. But I think he saw me as a little bit more. Scratch that, he saw me as a lot more.  
  
I actually didn't have a clue he liked me until about three weeks before the started of the Chunin exam. Me, Sasuke, Sakura-chan, and Kakashi-sensei had just returned from our mission with Tazuna and we were all really tired from walking all the way home. Kakashi-sensei said that we should all go home and get some rest, because the following day we would have to prepare to welcome and meet all the other shinobi who were going to be coming to Konoha for the exam.  
  
All four of us headed off in different directions, each too lost in our own thoughts to mutter anymore then a, "Mm," as a goodbye.  
  
Upon parting ways with my teammates, my thought immediately shot to Sasuke. Near the end of the mission, we were once again attacked by Zabuza, but this time he had the supposed "hunter-nin", Haku, to help him out. That stupid girl look-alike had done a jutsu to create a whole bunch of mirrors. At one point in the fight, Haku shot a swarm of needles at me and, me being me, I just stood there like a retard.  
  
I got the shock of my life when Sasuke jumped in front of the shot and saved me. I remember with distinct clarity exactly how he had fallen into my arms, lifelessly, and me asking him over and over why he had done that. He merely smiled up at me before going limp and "dying". I found out, after I had turned all demon-fox for a minute, that Sasuke hadn't really "died" as I first thought he had, he was just kind of.... dead for an hour or two.  
  
After that mission, I never thought of Sasuke the same way again. I started to consider him a friend and then something more. I started to think of him in ways that I shouldn't have been. Every time I was around him I would go all light headed and feel as if I was gonna faint or something. I know, I know, I'm starting to sound like a girl. But hey, so sue me.  
  
But anyway, on the walk home is when the big incident, as I so affectionately (notice the sarcasm on this word) call it, happened. The sky was a deep navy color and I was just idly walking through one of the many back alleys of the town (it was a shortcut home for me), minding my own business, thinking about Sasuke, when I felt this foreign chakra behind me. It was only faint, mind you, because I'm not as good with chakra as, say, Sakura-chan is, but I could feel it none the less.  
  
I swerved around, expecting to see at least some living thing there, but I didn't see anything. I could still feel the chakra of someone else though. That tingling feeling was hard to mix up with something else. But I thought, for the moment anyway, that it was merely caused due to me thinking so much about Sasuke.  
  
I turned back around and was about to continue walking when I came face to face (or face to chin) with Gaara. Of course, I didn't know his name at this point in time, but that's beside the point.  
  
I was forced to look up to be able to look into his eyes properly, as I'm so damned short, and what I saw was endless pools of deep aquamarine. I stood there hypnotized for a minute before I realized just how close he was. If I had wanted to, I could have reached out my arm, even in the slightest, and I would have been able to touch his arm. It really freaked me out.  
  
Jumping back with a yelp, I reached for a kunai. I had just brushed one with my finger tip when he grabbed me by the wrists and flung me against the wall. I had cried out in pain as my back made contact with the brick wall. My eyes opened to slits and then to wide circles as he pinned my arms above my head. He pressed himself against me and breathed hotly into one of my ears. I forget which one, as I was too concerned with what the hell he was doing then to where he was doing it.  
  
His crimson hair obscured my vision as he whispered to me. "We finally meet, Demon-Fox... You have no idea how long I have been awaiting this night....." His tongue then came out of his mouth and licked my ear, curving around the top of it.  
  
My mouth went dry and I felt sick. How the hell did he know I was the Demon- Fox??? And what the HELL did he think he was doing, licking my ear lick that!?!? Using some strength that I suspected came from fear, I wretched one of my wrists free and pushed him off, resulting in him letting go of my other wrist.  
  
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!?" I yelled at him, when I was sure he was at least a good five feet away. "And who in the name of Hokage are you, ya freak??!?!" He seemed unfazed by my outburst. He only smiled at me before replying.  
  
"I am merely fulfilling what was meant to be, amai. And as for who I am.... I am Gaara."  
  
His voice sent chills down my spine, and the good kind that Sasuke caused, but the kind that you get when something scares you that much. And I don't like to be scared. I've been scared all of my life, because I'm hated and loathed. And all because of chance. I didn't have to be the one the Demon- Fox was sealed into. It was just by chance that I was chosen.  
  
Anger coursed through me as I realized what he had called me. "Where do you get off on calling me sweet, you panda-eyed freak?!?!?!!? No one's aloud to call me sweet!!!!!! Bastard!!!!" Again he seemed unfazed.  
  
He took a step towards me and I took two steps back. There was definitely something wrong with that guy, and I wasn't about stick around to find out exactly what it was. So before he could do or say anything else, I turned tail and ran out of the alley, back the way I came, deciding to take the long way home.  
  
I stopped running about fifteen minute later, when I was sure that I wasn't being followed. I slowed my walk to a trot, vaguely trying to catch my breath. I felt a droplet of sweat slid down the side of my face and I wiped it away with the back of my hand. Damn that guy!! Gaara or something... Whatever. I just wanted to get home and sleep. I was basically dead on my feet and running from Gaara or whatever didn't exactly help all that much.  
  
As I walked up the steps to the ninja apartment was living in, I once again felt that faint chakra. Fear coursed through me again, but it vanished just as the chakra did a moment later. Shrugging, I proceeded to walk up the steps and down the sort-of long hallway to where the door to my own small apartment was.  
  
My thoughts kept traveling to Gaara as I walked the length of the hallway. That stupid panda-eyed git!! Grrr... I just couldn't get my mind off him. Him and his weirdo eyebrow-less head.  
  
"What a freak...." I muttered as I turned the key in the lock. Sometimes I wonder why I lock the door, it's not like anyone'll want to break into my house anyway. I have no valuables. And I have no one I'd invite in, either, unless you count Iruka-sensei. Unless they want to trash it. Then that's a totally different story.  
  
When I shut the door again, inside the house, I bolted it and turned. In the utter blackness, I didn't notice the black figure standing just next to the door, directly behind me until it wrapped its lanky arms around my middle and pulled me to it.  
  
I immediately struggled as a first instinct but the figure lifted me off of the floor with great ease. I hate being short...  
  
For a reason I still have to figure out, I was thrown into the air slightly, just out of the arms' grasp, and then caught again when I was facing the figures direction. I looked into the figures eyes and I saw aquamarine eyes. I gasped aloud when I realized that I was, once again, looking into the face of Gaara. He looks as if he'd kill me at any second, and that scares the hell out of me, even though I'm used to it. His eyes are pouring into mine with such intensity that I think he's trying to see inside my head.  
  
He nuzzled his face into my neck and I let out a small squeak. "Why do you run from me, kyuubi..?" he asked, the softness of his voice totally betraying his appearance. This guy is completely throwing me off whack; first, he's all rough and tough, and now he's being all gentle (sort of). It seriously freaked me out! Gaara thought I was what, just going to run into his arms, or something? The guy really is psycho! I am not gay!! Wait a minute, I like Sasuke so.... damnit. I hate it when I correct myself.  
  
I started to squirm again when I felt him place a kiss on the side of my neck. What did he think he was doing?! I haven't a clue as to how, but I managed to wriggle my way out of his vice-like grip on me. Or maybe he just let me go. I have no idea, but when I turned to face him he wasn't there anymore.  
  
"What the hell is this?!?" I asked myself. I trembled (just a smidgen) and ran to the door. I flung it open and ran all the way down the hallway and out of the building. I totally forgot to shut the door, but I didn't really care at the moment. I didn't want to stay at my own apartment tonight, but I also didn't want to be found by Gaara in the middle of a deserted street. That would seriously suck. Yes, that it would.  
  
So I started running to the closest teammates' home; it just happened to be Sasuke's. Couldn't have been Sakura's house. Not that she'd let me in anyway.  
  
A rustle to the left of me made me realize that I'd stopped running and had come to a complete stop. Once again getting a little bit (only a little) freaked out, I continued on to Sasuke's place.  
  
It wasn't really that long of a trip but it seemed like an eternity to me because of the consistent rustling made from the trees above me. I started out in a walk, and that turned into a jog, and then that turned into a run, all the way until I was practically sprinting the rest of the way to Sasuke's. That was really starting to freak me out! Jesus, someone up there didn't like me, I can tell you that.  
  
I ran up the stairs to Uchiha's apartment, tripping a few times in the process, but when I finally made it to the third story I sprinted down the hallway until I came to the door marked, "Uchiha". I could hear someone climbing the stairs behind me, and if I'd been in my right mind, I would have been able to tell that it was probably just the late night janitor, and not Gaara coming to get me. That guy seriously scared the shit out of me!!  
  
Turning to the door, I knocked hard and frantically. I kept glancing back towards the stairwell even as footsteps could be heard from behind the door. When the doorknob finally turned, I flung myself into through the doorway and straight into Sasuke. I knocked us both to the floor and immediately attached myself to his hip, going into gibberish mode.  
  
"Shutthedoor, shutthedoor!!!!!" I blurted out. Somehow, he understood me and reached out and pushed the door shut. I sighed, or I tried to, but it was a bit difficult on account of the fact that I was shaking so damn much.  
  
"Naruto," Sasuke said quietly, "What's the matter? You're trembling..." He gripped my shoulders lightly.  
  
I released him slightly and looked up at him. Was this the same Uchiha Sasuke that, only this morning, was telling me to grow up and quit complaining? It couldn't be.... I stole a glance down at the rest of him and blushed. All he was wearing was a simple pair of baggy, navy pajama pants, so his chest (his fine chest) was just sitting there in front of me, begging to be stared at. But, no, if he caught me staring at his chest, he'd kill me. So I forced myself to look back up to his face. His very, very nice face.....  
  
"Naruto?"  
  
I snapped out of the revere that had caught hold of me and I looked at him in the eyes. The whole reason for coming her had come back to me and I trembled again.  
  
"I-it-was-this-really-weird-lookin'-guy!!!" I gibbered out. "He-cornered-me- in-an-alleyway-and-pushed-me-up-against-a-wall-" Breath. "-and-then-I-ran- back-home,-but-he-was-there-too-so-I-ran-here-and-he-was-chasing-me-all-the- way-here-and--and..." I could feel tears grazing my eyes so I looked down at his knees, which were the only part of him I could stand to look at right then and there. How could I start to cry right in front of him?!? What was I, six?!?!? I shut my eyes and tried to hold back the tears.  
  
I felt two fingers underneath my chin and they pushed my face up so that I was forced to look at Sasuke. He was smiling slightly at me, which caused my heart to skip a beat.  
  
"It's alright now," he cooed softly. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that Sasuke the Ice Bitch had a heart! "You can spend the night here if you want." His gaze questioned me.  
  
I nodded. "A-alright..." I stuttered out. Partly in fear of Gaara and partly in embarrassment.  
  
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A/N : Rin: How was is? Bad? Good? You wanna kill us? Either way, we wanna know! Review, but, if you flame us, PLEASE don't be too mean. Meanies are no fun and are EVIL!!!!!! XD  
  
Yami Rin: And anyway, the flames'll be used to roast Neji over an open fire! *gets a Naruto fox smile* Heh heh heh.... Can ya tell we don't like Neji?  
  
Rin: Anyone who's mean to Hinata will BURN!!!!!!!!!!!! WAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! (to get this you would have to have read Naruto manga between Ch.'s 73 and 80. Somewhere around there...)  
  
Hinata: O.O; *leaves*  
  
Yami Rin: And why would you wonderful people flame us, anyways? :3 Cuz I mean, you're all so nice that you wouldn't flame, right? Right?! RIGHT?!??!?! XD  
  
Rin: O.o;  
  
Yami Rin: Gomen.... I need to be alone, now...... *goes off into a dark corner and mopes*  
  
Rin: *blinks* What the hell was THAT all about? *sighs* Damn PMSing Yami..... Anyway, as Yami Rin said before going all bitch-attack, review. It'll make us happy and it'll make us work faster. *^_^* Now, I've got to go get Yami out of that corner so we can write the next chappie....  
  
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PS : Rin: We need a name for this fic!!! If you wanna help us name this fic, say the name you think would work in your review!  
  
Yami Rin: If we pick your suggestion, we'll write you a one-shot Naruto fic!! So please, help us out!!! ^__^ 


	2. Ch1

disclaimer : We work in a bar somewhere in Canada. What do ya think?  
  
A/N : Rin: Holy shit!! We got... *counts the reviews* 27 reviews!?!??! I was only expecting, like, 2! *^_^* I'M SO HAAAAAAPY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD  
  
Yami Rin: You underestimate us too much, Rin-kun. And now, to answer the reviews!!  
  
Rin: Yeah!! I LOVE this part of the show! O.O; Whoops, wrong thingy goin' on here.....  
  
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To firedragon97: Rin: Thankx! I probably wouldn't have been traumatized, I would have been swooning!! ^_^; But this is only me.... Probably not what you would think.... Or would you? *a faint 'DUN DUN DUN' can be heard in the background*  
  
To moi: Yami Rin: It was excellent, wasn't it? Well, I think we did a pretty good job. I mean, no one's reviewed saying that they threw up, now have they? And, as you wanted, the next chapter! ^_~  
  
To Kechia: Rin: Hee hee!! Starting off was hard! :P But once we got going, me and Yami Rin were typing for, like, 4 hours or more! :3 Don't we work hard? Tee hee....  
  
To Zenegami: Yami Rin: Oh, Neji's hot alright!! Heh heh heh..... *looks over to see the boy roasting on a stick over an open fire* I'll put him out eventually..... Maybe.  
  
To Japime gurl: Rin: I feel bad for Gaara too.... *sniffs* Maybe one day, I'll write a Naruto fic about Gaara/Naruto. *stares dreamily off into space* Someday............ *falls asleep from thinking too hard*  
  
To Dragon: Yami Rin: I love Gaara too!! Who wouldn't? ^_^ And sorry, about the one-shot fic thing, it's just that me and Rin had already decided on a name with Athraven's suggestion. But, if you really want to, you can get mad and challenge us to write a Naruto fic for ya. That might work too, you never know....  
  
To WuffieLuver: Rin: Yes, damn that Sasuke, always getting the guy! (so to speak) But you have to admit, Naruto and Sasuke make a kawaii couple, ne? And don't worry, Neji's burning anyway, cuz Yami Rin found some gasoline and I found a lighter, so it works out in the end, don't it? XDDD Yees......  
  
To piong: Yami Rin: Here! ^_^ And thank you!  
  
To me: Rin: I liked your title!! But Yami Rin was all like, "NOOO!! NOT ANGSTY ENOUGH!!!". *sniffs* I wanted, "Univited Shadow".....  
  
To Vin: Yami Rin: O.o;; I was gonna ask if ya wanted some Ritalin, but that would be rude.... Sorry!! I'm just kidding!!  
  
To JadeTiger: Rin: Don't worry, that wasn't it! X3 I'm lovin' this fic like you wouldn't believe!!!!!  
  
To Morien Alexander: Yami Rin: Cool pen-name, BTW. And Naruto is just so kawaii, isn't he? and don't worry,, we're reading more and more manga everyday! XDDD It ROCKS!!!!  
  
To Shimegami: Rin: *sniffs* It was s'pose to be a serious fic!! *sobs* WAHHHH!!!!!! *goes back to normal* Anyway, ohhh!! A pocky!! I luvs pockies!!!! *takes a bite* Waka waka!!! :3 Tee hee!!!!!  
  
To Love From Vikky: Yami Rin: You'll find out what that means in this chapter, don't worry. All will become clear..... *goes all funky* Ummmmm.......  
  
To misakichi: Rin: I wasn't a big fan of SasuNaru for a while either. But look at me now! I'm a 'shipper!!  
  
To lovova: Yami Rin: That would be a really cool twist, wouldn't it? But (unfortunately) it isn't what the plot (we have a plot? O.O) of this story is. Sowwy!  
  
To SW: Rin: Yes, I think Sasuke IS an Ice Bitch. 'Tis why I wrote it, honey! ^_^  
  
To monkfish: Yami Rin: Another cool pen-name here. I want a Gaara plushie!! But I can't find one ANYWHERE!!!! Can you tell me where I can get one???? *teary eyed*  
  
To Athraven: Rin: We should get a beta reader, shouldn't we? Heh heh.... Anyways, I loved you title suggestions! So much that we picked one! Now, just e-mail us (or whatever) and tell us what pairing you'd want and if you want it to be a fluff fic, or an angst fic, or whatever! Now, come and claim your prize!!! XDDD  
  
To Ginji-Ban: Rin: Ginji-ban reviewed our fic!!!! I'm so proud, it's not funny!!!!!!!! And yes, I got to answer two reviews in a row, but I don't care!!!! XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD I'm a BIG fan of Orphen's Love, and I want you to continue as soon as possible!! Oh, Great One, with thou awesome fic, I am not worthy to get a review...... But do it again anyway!!! WAHHHHHH!!!!!  
  
To SirenM: Yami Rin: Little backstabbing.... got to answer two..... Anyway, "obsession" IS a good title name, (and I like it a lot) but we already picked a name. And they were OOC!!! OMG!!!! Gomen!! *bows and hits her head on a table* Owww.......  
  
To Space Station: Rin: *blushes* Teehee!!! Someone loves my fic!! I'm so proud..!!!!  
  
To Bronze Eagle: Yami Rin: I still hate Neji...... Grr!!! Yeah, Gaara is big and scary!! :3 Just kidding ya!!! Gaara is so kawaii!! I just luv em right to death!!!! ^_^  
  
To Lady Adako: Rin: Teehee!!! More praises!! An not a single flame! *faints*  
  
To Chrys: Yami Rin: Again, this was s'posed to be a serious fic..... Oh well. What can ya do?  
  
To SilverTear: Rin: Here's the update you wanted! It is nice, isn't it? I'm so cute..... And egotistical! But wacha.... ^_~  
  
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Yami Rin: So, there ya have it. It the first time we've ever answered reviews before. Took a little while though.... Not that we mind, now!!  
  
Rin: It was fun!!! Let's do it again sometime!!!!!! XDDDD Pixie sticks are good....... WAHHHHHHHH!!!!! *takes another gulp of the one in her hand* WEEEE HEEEEEE HEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *turns chibi and bounces off*  
  
Yami Rin: O.o;; Well, I gotta go catch Rin so we can start the next chapter. C-ya!!! *runs after Rin* Aibou, come back!!  
  
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Summary: Naruto is harassed by Gaara one day. Over the course of the following week, the panda-eyed boy doesn't let up, and is scaring Naruto just a little. Naruto goes to Sasuke, for an UNKNOWN (***!!!HINT!!!HINT!!!***) reason.  
  
Things to know: 1) The authoresses are crazy 2) Naruto will be acting like a little girl in this fic (maybe) 3) {blah blah} = author's notes 4) "blah blah" = speech 5) A lot of, /////'s = change of scene, or end of chapters  
  
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WARNING!!!!!!!!!: THIS FIC WILL CONTAIN SHONEN AI IN LATER CHAPTERS!!! FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS, IT'S 'BOY LOVE'!!!!!!! SASUNARU AND ONE SIDED GAARA/NARUTO!!!!!!!!! WILL ALSO CONTAIN KAKAIRU!!!! MAYBE SOME GRAPHIC STUUF, TOO!!!!!!!!  
  
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Even the Cold Burns by rin lockheart and Yami Rin  
  
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Chapter One  
  
[Gaara's POV]  
  
It is ironic that I have the symbol of love on my forehead. I have never had love, not from my parents, not from relatives, not from anyone. Well, there was one, but they died an untimely death, so I rarely count them as anything.  
  
I am a Genin; a low level ninja. I was going to the Hidden Leaf Village soon to become a Chunin. I am also from the Sand Continent, a place feared in itself, without the help of the ninjas it trains. We Sand ninjas used to be fearer a lot more then we are now. But a great war broke out or something, I am not sure of it, and we fell. I am an unusual ninja because I carry with me the remnants of a demon. A raccoon demon or something named Shukaku, I think it was. I had found no one who was like me, until I went to that fortune teller located in the middle of a nameless village.  
  
Destiny; I spat on it until that day. I didn't believe that anyone was pulling the strings with my life, and that no one ever would. But I was curious as to what the old woman could do. I was planning to kill her afterwards, and add her to the collection of deaths on my name. I carry a gourd on my back that is a mixture of sand and the blood of all the people I have ever killed. There's something extra too, but I'm not about to give you the satisfaction of knowing what that is.  
  
As I stepped into the tent of the fortune teller, my nose was bombarded with the scents of incense. I waved some of the smoke out of my eyes and proceeded to sit down at one end of the small circular table. At the other end sat a ragged old woman of whom I could not see her face, as her head was covered by many dark cloths, as was the rest of her body.  
  
She asked me to show her my palm. I gave it to her automatically; it was not like she could hurt me. Her old, shriveled fingers traveled all over my hand, tracing lines gently, some harder then others, and finally stopping for a moment.  
  
"You have had many misfortunes in your life, young one," she said. I had to resist the erge to snort. Anyone could have told me that. But I let her continue. "And you have seen many deaths, far too many for someone this young." She wheezed in a breath. "And you are going away soon to become more then you are now." I nodded and she seemed to see it, although I still don't know, to this day, how she had done so. "You wish to find someone like yourself, of whom you can love." Again I nodded, although this time with a flinch and hesitation.  
  
She gripped my hand a bit harder then she had been a minute before. "If you wish to find this person, you must go to Konoha earlier then you had intended," she wheezed. "This person is hated and loathed, just as you are, Gaara of the Sand." I blinked. How did she know my name? "I am a Seer," she stated.  
  
I jumped up, knocking the chair over in the process. "What?" I asked, my voice ragged. "How did you know what I was thinking?" A grizzly smile appeared on her lips, the only part of her face that was visible.  
  
"I know all, and I See all," she said slowly. "Of course I can see your thoughts. Your mind is very well guarded for a mere boy, but nothing that I could not see past." She motioned to the lopsided chair with an outstretched hand. "Why do you not sit back down? It would be so much more comfortable." Slowly, I grabbed the said object off of the floor and put it upright again, sitting back down.  
  
"How much earlier must I leave?" I asked. I was desperate for an answer.  
  
Another smile. "Now, if you must. It tis a long journey after all."  
  
I stood up, unlike the last time, and handed the fortune teller a couple of Yen. She nodded in thanks. Without saying a thing, I turned to leave. "One other thing..." the old woman called out. I looked back at her with an annoyed look. I desperately wanted to get going.  
  
"What!?" I snapped. The woman never even flinched.  
  
"Make the journey an extremely quick one. For the one you seek is falling in love with another as we speak...."  
  
My lips curled back in a snarl. "We'll see about that!" I turned and left the fortune teller without even a single glace back, but I could tell that she was watching my back as I left.  
  
I got only a little bit into the desert before looking back to the nameless village. It was so small.... I just couldn't resist. I put my hands into the ninja position and called out, "Subaku kyuu no jutsu!" I dropped the position as soon as I saw the sand flying up from all around and covering the village. I turned around and started walking again as soon as I couldn't see any proof that there had been a village there.  
  
I got bored with walking about an hour later, so a quick "Shunshin no jutsu!" got me to Konoha in no time at all. There was a small hole left where I came up out of the ground (scaring an older man into fainting in doing so) right in front of the large gates that the village was behind. I got in with no problems; it seemed that they were expecting ninja from other continents soon, just not this early, but they let me in anyway.  
  
Traveling the streets can get extremely boring if you do not know where anything is, or the person you are looking for. The nearest person to me at that moment was a stout man in about his late twenties or early thirties. I walked up to him and cleared my throat to get his attention. He looked up from a conversation he was having with a pretty looking young thing. People like him disgusted me; an older person looking to a younger person for sexual intercourse. Regardless, I asked him all the same.  
  
"Are there any demons around here, would you know?"  
  
He looked startled for a second, but that was immediately covered by a deep loathing look. "Yeah, there's a demon around here, but fortunately for us, he's away on a mission at the moment." The man huffed. "I don't know how the brat became a ninja in the first place!"  
  
I looked at him puzzledly. "Mission? Ninja? How would a demon become a ninja?" I asked.  
  
The man snarled. "Cuz he's in the form of a twelve year old brat!!" He looked angered, but then started muttering to himself. "That bloody demon took my wife and children away twelve years ago..."  
  
"Would you happen to know where he lives?" The man looked startled deeply by my question.  
  
"Why would you wanna know that?" He scratched his head. I glared. "Alright, alright, I'll tell ya!! He lives in the ninja apartment just down the alleyway over there." He pointed to a small space between two buildings. "The room should say, "Uzumaki Naruto" on the door." He then turned back to the young girl.  
  
I headed down the street and the alleyway until I came upon a building that looked to be the apartment the man was talking about. I headed inside it.  
  
"Uzumaki Naruto," I muttered. "Such a beautiful name... I wonder what he's like." I searched the doors, seeing a lot of random names that meant nothing to me. I finally came to his name. It was on a small, tarnished gold plate hanging from the door. I tried the doorknob. Locked, of course. I covered one of my eyes with a hand and muttered, "Daisan no me." A small amount of sand gathered from nowhere in my hand and came up to form a sphere. That sphere turned into a real, third eye. My third eye.  
  
I crouched down and let the small eye roll underneath the door, one hand still covering my actually eye. The third eye squeezed under the door and proceeded to look around.  
  
The room was a complete and utter mess. The sheets on the bed looked like they hadn't been put right in months, cloths scattered the floor, and empty ramen cups lay in random places all over the room. I could make out a small fridge in the corner. There was a picture on the bedside table, the only place not covered in a mess. On viewing it a bit closer, it seemed to be a picture of a small blonde haired kid in orange, about my age, with three lines on both sides of his face that looked like whiskers, and an older male, about, I don't know, twenty-three maybe. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail on top of his head and there was a scar across the bridge of his nose. I was guessing that Naruto was the small blonde boy in the older males' arms. A smile grazed both faces.  
  
A faint jealousy grew in me. I wanted to be the one who held him like that, and the one he smiled like that for. A smirk spread on my face the next second as a thought accured to me. He soon would be the one who I held in my arms, whether I had to force him or if he came to me willingly.  
  
With the removal of my hand from my eye, the third eye in the room disintegrated into sand and fell apart. I stood up and sighed; it had been a long day and I needed a place to stay for the night. Maybe even the next little while, because I might as well stay here until the exams are over. I started walking down the semi-long hallway and out of the building.  
  
I walked around the village for about an hour searching for a suitable lodging. I finally found one in the home of a grouchy, elderly old woman. I got rid of her easy enough; she is now lying underground, covered by about thirty feet of sand. It was almost humorous to see her struggle against the force of the sand. She didn't even have enough breath to scream out for help, the poor woman.  
  
I looked around and decided that I needed to redecorate. When one looks around a room and sees nothing but pink and flowery print, one has to resist their gag reflex. So I proceeded to rip the curtains down (I pulled the blinds shut, of course) and smashed those accursed flowered plates. The kittens on them were annoying me to no end. I tore down the wallpaper and threw it to the floor. When I finished, I looked all around the room at my handiwork and smirked; it would do, now, I supposed.  
  
I sat the large gourd down onto one of the many chairs in the room. I myself flopped down onto the couch, head resting on one of the arms and my feet propped up on the other. I needed something to do now that I had a place to stay and I knew where Naruto lived. Thinking of Naruto, I realized that I knew next to nothing about the boy, other then the fact of where he lived. Sitting up, I decided that was what I would do for the next while, until the boy returned of course. But if I knew a lot about the my mate, then it would be easier to bait him, and lure him to me. So, not even bothering to pick up the gourd, I headed out of the back door, and into the crowded street.  
  
It wasn't that hard to get information about him. It seemed that he as known by all the people in the village, young and old. Almost all the adults told me the same thing: Naruto was a trouble making brat with no parents. Although it took awhile, I managed to get the story of the Nine- Tails demon fox out of a middle aged man. I almost had to kill him to get it, but I got it none the less.  
  
All of the children said the same thing too: that the little fox-boy was loudmouthed, obnoxious and not the best ninja in the world. It seemed that not one person had anything good to say about him. Still, the more I heard, the more I wanted the beautiful child.  
  
It seemed that he liked ramen as well. Useless food item, if you ask me.......  
  
One night while I was waiting my beloved's return, a dog had managed to get into the house and was now happily snacking on a rat. I had glared down at it before reaching down and grabbing it by the scruff of the neck. It had whimpered and whined, but I gave it no pity. I had taken out a kunai and cut the pathetic animals' head off. It was no more then it deserved.  
  
I kicked its' head across the room and carried its' body into the small kitchen. Taking down a jar, I completely drained the thing of its' remaining blood into the glass container. I then tossed the carcass to the side and brought the jar back into the other room. Now back by the chair I had been sitting in, I kneeled down by the wall and dipped two fingers of the right hand into the red liquid. I then pressed the fingers to the wall and began to write.  
  
On the wall, I wrote Naruto's name, and how I planned to take him as my own. And how I planned to make sweet love to him. And how I planned to kill anyone that got in my way. And how he would come back to the Sand Continent with me, all in vivid detail. I also wrote my own name somewhere among this mess of blood.  
  
When I finished, all of the walls were covered in blood. Deep, red, rich blood. And all of my plans would soon become a reality. Yes, so very soon.....  
  
By day I sat atop the main gates to Konoha and just watched for any signs of his return. By night, I scrounged up a few rats or bugs to eat. It was a lot harder then you may think, but it kept me from falling asleep. Not that I needed anything to keep me awake. You see, I never sleep. You remember of the demon living inside me? It becomes stronger by the shadows of darkness inside my head, so if I fall asleep, it will emerge and kill everyone and everything in sight. Afterwards, I would probably just shrug and walk away into another town.  
  
It was on the third day of watching, around sunset, that I noticed four figures walking towards the village. Squinting, I made out that the smallest one was Naruto. The others, which consisted of an older male, one dark haired boy and a pink haired girl, would not get in my way; I would make sure of that.  
  
Upon entering the village, the three parted ways. I was careful to follow Naruto very closely. He began to walk through the small alleyway to his apartment, so I jumped to the ground without a so much as a sound, for he didn't turn around. {Yami Rin: Dear Goddess, it rhymes....} He swerved around suddenly and I was forced to the shadows along the side of the wall. There, I inched by until I was behind him once again. So when he turned around again, I came face to face with me.  
  
He stared at my chin for a second (that was were his eye level was) before looking up, straight into my eyes. I resisted the erge to gasp. His eyes were the deepest blue I had ever seen. They reminded me of the kind of blue only found in the depths of the ocean. He looked down slightly as if just noticing now how close we were.  
  
He jumped back, yelping, and reached to his leg pouch. Not that he'd manage to get anything out of it. With swift movements, I grabbed him and slammed him into the wall. He narrowed his eyes in pain and then widened them in shock as I pressed myself against him. Oh, the sweet feelings that contact can give you.... There was a flame going through my veins as I lifted his arms above his head and breathed into his ear.  
  
"We finally meet, Demon Fox..." I whispered. "You have no idea how long I have been awaiting this night....." I couldn't resist any longer. My tongue came out and licked along his ear, curving over the top of it. He tasted so sweet.  
  
The next second, one of the wrists that I had in my firm grip was wretched free and he pushed me off. Instantly, I missed the warmth that his body radiated. I was a good five feet away, at least, before he spoke.  
  
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!?" he exclaimed. "And who in the name of Hokage are you, ya freak??!?!"  
  
His voice. It displayed so much emotion, which was not a good quality for a ninja to posses. But, to me it sounded like the most perfect sound in existence. I smiled slightly at him. "I am merely fulfilling what was meant to be, amai," I said softly. Oh, the nickname sweet fit him so well. His taste still lingered in my mouth. "And as for who I am.... I am Gaara."  
  
I saw him shiver, even through the darkness. It seemed that I scared him, the poor little fox. I guess I'll just have to work a little harder into making him mine. I gazed into his eyes and the scared look on his face turned into one of anger.  
  
"Where do you get off on calling me sweet, you panda-eyed freak?!?!?!!?" His outburst did nothing to hinder my plans. "No one's aloud to call me sweet!!!!!! Bastard!!!!"  
  
I didn't want to wait any longer so I took a step towards him. This action caused him to take two steps backwards. I frowned. It seemed like I would have to work a lot harder than I had intended. Not that I wouldn't. This beautiful little kit would soon be mine, mind, body, and soul. Even if I had to kill him to do it.  
  
The next second I was looking at his receding back. He was running away from me. Figures. I jumped up and followed him from the roofs. It seemed that the alleyway was a shortcut home for him. The kitsune ran around about three buildings before turning a corner and heading back towards the ninja apartment. I smirked at this; I could easily get into his home now. All I had to do was use the "Shunshin no jutsu" technique and basically teleport into his house. Why I hadn't thought of that earlier is beyond me.  
  
I used the said technique and appeared inside his apartment. There was only a small hole that I covered by the dirty rug. I proceeded to hide in the shadows beside the door. My heart sped up as I heard a key in the lock; he was so close....  
  
The door opened and he stepped in. He didn't seem to notice me, for he went on locking the door. He turned to walk more into the house, but I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around his small waist. My little fox immediately struggled but I stopped him by lifting him off of the floor. I threw him into the air slightly and caught him as soon as he faced me. My arms went back to his waist, and I gave him a look to tell him to stop squirming. He gasps and I hug his slight frame to me, burying my face into his neck.  
  
"Why do you run from me, kyuubi..?" I whisper to him. I lay a kiss on the side of his neck, and resist the erge to nip at it; I didn't want to scare him too much so soon. He started to struggle against my hold on him, so I loosened my grip. He managed to wriggle out. I sighed softly and hung into the shadows again. He looked around, but couldn't see me.  
  
"What the hell is this?!?" he cried out. I noticed a slight tremble cource through his body. My eyes trailed down his body as he stood there frozen, taking in all that I could see. I saw a slim, delicious neck, a thin torso, willowy arms, a small waist, thin hips just begging to be groped, and lean, muscular legs. I unconsciously licked my lips. This was more then I anticipated, as I did go to a fortune teller of whom I thought was a fraud.  
  
He ran from the apartment and I was left alone. Again, I sighed. He would be mine, if it was the last thing I did on this Earth.  
  
I walked to the window and opened it, jumping out into the tree closest to it. It created a slight russling sound. I continued on until I reached the house I was 'borrowing'. I would leave him alone until morning, because I had to plan how to make him come to me. I smirked as an idea came to me. A malicious smirk that probably made me look even worse then I already do.  
  
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A/N : Rin: So, how was it? Pwease tell us in a review! We'll be encouraged to work faster if you do!  
  
Yami Rin: *sighs* Holy shit, that took along time to write.... We were typing for about *looks to clock* four hours straight and my hands feel like there're gonna fall off................... ------_------ Me dead tired....  
  
Rin: Hee hee!! Poor you and your non-sugar thing. Ya see, she can't eat sugar, or she'll come out like me, and no one really wants to see another me. But, lucky me, I can eat sugar AND my hands don't hurt! ;3 I'm so cute.......  
  
Yami Rin: "oVo" You cannot tell me that your hands don't hurt!!! Cuz that wouldn't be right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Rin: Like I said, it's the sugar.  
  
Yami Rin: ........................ =_= Whatever.............. (I'm turning into Squall. Wow.)  
  
Rin: Anyway, pwease review! Oh, and let us know if who's POV we should do next chappie. We were planning to make is Sasuke's POV but we want the readers imput. Thankies! 


	3. ch2

disclaimer : We do not own Naruto. *sniffs* One day, though.... Maybe. If we get sued, all they'll get is a few copies of our fiction. Probably not even those.  
  
A/N : Rin: We're getting so many reviews!! It's so kewl! X3 I'M LOVIN' THIIIIIIS!!!! XDDDDD  
  
Yami Rin: 9_9 Of course we're getting reviews!!! People LIKE what we write! Err... type! Yeah that's it... l:D Anyways, now, to answer our reviews for chapter 1!  
  
Rin: Sugoi-no.... ^___^ Twah!!  
  
Yami Rin: I don't know HOW you can be so perky so early in the morning...... See, our room's getting renovated, and we're letting her father do it, and he likes to fool around with stuff to do with carpentry, so now we don't have a floor! There's just a big hole in the floor about the size of the room. So, we were forced to sleep in the living room on an air mattress, and it gets light very early, and there's a big ass window and it woke us up at, like, 7:00 this morning!! I could have killed him...... _:) Heh heh heh.....  
  
To Gelfling: Rin: Thank you SO much (again) for cheering us up about the flame! We (or I, anyway) would have taken a long time to get my mood out of the gutter and back up to the cheery status that it's in now. THANK YOOOOUUUU~~!!!!!  
  
To Gelfling: Yami Rin: Tee hee!! I think I love you too. You helped my Rin- kun out!!! WAHHH!!!!!!!!! *hugs Gelfling* I LOVE YA!!!!!!  
  
To The Firey: Rin: Thank you ever so much! *giggles* I really liked doing Gaara's chappie!  
  
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Rin: Anyway! I LOVE REVIEWS!!!!  
  
Yami Rin: o.O;; Okay, THAT was weird...  
  
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Summary: Naruto is harassed by Gaara one day. Over the course of the following week, the panda-eyed boy doesn't let up, and is scaring Naruto just a little. Naruto goes to Sasuke, for an UNKNOWN (***!!!HINT!!!HINT!!!***) reason.  
  
Things to know: 1) The authoresses are crazy  
  
2) Naruto will be acting like a little girl in this fic (maybe)  
  
3) {blah blah} = author's notes  
  
4) "blah blah" = speech  
  
5) A lot of, /////'s = change of scene, or end of chapters  
  
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WARNING!!!!!!!!!: THIS FIC WILL CONTAIN SHONEN AI IN LATER CHAPTERS!!! FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS, IT'S 'BOY LOVE'!!!!!!! SASUNARU AND ONE SIDED GAARA/NARUTO!!!!!!!!! WILL ALSO CONTAIN KAKAIRU!!!! MAYBE SOME GRAPHIC STUUF, TOO!!!!!!!!  
  
Warning2: this chapter's probably gonna have some fluff in it, so ya better watch out. ^___^  
  
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Even the Cold Burns by rin lockheart and Yami Rin  
  
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Chapter Two  
  
[Sasuke's POV]  
  
The Mist Continent had changed a lot of things for me. For example, the way I see Naruto. I used to see him as an immature, loud, obnoxious brat. That was before I thrown myself in front of him to block him from Haku's supposed "deadly" attack. Oh well. Neither of us knew that it wasn't lethal.  
  
Sakura, Kakashi-sensei, Naruto, and I had just gotten home from the mission to the Mist Continent. I had noticed that Naruto kept throwing these odd glances at me from time to time. I guessed it was from the fight with Zabuza and Haku....  
  
I hadn't really thought about as to why I had saved Naruto until the walk home. Well, I couldn't before that, really, for I was unconscious. I guess it was because I thought of him as a rival, someone worthy to spar with me. For a long time, I didn't even think of him as that. All I saw him as was.... dumb. I hate to say it, but that's what I thought.  
  
But when I think about it, I didn't really think of him as a rival that much anymore, but more as a friend. Because he understood what true loneliness was. Sure, we still have the competitiveness, but it's not like it was before. Before, we would always throw spiteful glares at each other, and now we just glace spitefully. Such a change, ne? And I really don't like it all that much.....  
  
You see, the thing is, my mind has been feeding me all these different fantasies. About Naruto. Once, I saw Naruto. And a bed. So you see my dilemma? It only started after Haku, but it came with such a force that I almost couldn't control myself around the fox boy. Heh. I even thought up a nickname for him.  
  
I find that he always looks like a fox somehow; it's the way he smiles, added to the whisker-like lines on both sides of his face I guess. He looks kind of cute...  
  
Yes, I admit, I think I might like him, a little bit. No, I can't even like him that much. I am an Avenger, and I have to kill my brother for taking away all that was important in my life. I don't have time for such rampant emotions such as that. But my emotion came up very clearly the night we got back.  
  
I had just gotten home and proceeded to take a nice, hot shower. After that, I planned to go to bed and rest, as we had to do something for the Chunin exams in the morning. Now out of the shower, I pulled on a pair of navy pajama pants and started to climb into the cool sheets that awaited me. That is, until a rapid knocking came to my front door. I got up and went to answer it, grumbling as I went. The knocking didn't seece; whoever it was wanted my attention, and fast. I threw open the door and was immediately knocked over by an orange and blonde blur.  
  
To say I was surprised would have been the biggest understatement made by the lips of man.  
  
"Shutthedoor, shutthedoor!!!!!" the blur hollered. I obliged instantly, recognizing the voice. He had latched himself onto my hip and refused to let go. He sighed shakily. I glared at the back of his head.  
  
I looked down at Naruto's face and my gaze softened. He was looking up at me with his big blue eyes that I couldn't resist. I'll be damned if he ever finds this out. The blonde boy trembled so much that he sent tremors throughout my body. I held him by the shoulders and spoke to him.  
  
"Naruto," I said, "What's the matter? You're trembling..." He looked up at me with wearily, terrified eyes.  
  
I saw him glance down at the rest of me, pausing for a moment at my chest. I inwardly smirked; if only poor Naruto could see this, he'd slap himself. He finally looked back up to my face when I called out his name.  
  
He went straight into gibberish mode.  
  
"I-it-was-this-really-weird-lookin'-guy!!!" he said. "He-cornered-me-in-an- alleyway-and-pushed-me-up-against-a-wall-" He took a breath. "-and-then-I- ran-back-home,-but-he-was-there-too-so-I-ran-here-and-he-was-chasing-me-all- the-way-here-and--and..." I saw his eyes start to well with tears and he look down, obviously ashamed. I put two fingers underneath his chin and forced him to look at me. The tears were running freely down his face now.  
  
"It's alright now," I cooed to him. "You can spend the night here if you want." I gazed at him for a moment longer before he nodded and stuttered out an, "A-alright..."  
  
I stood up and he stood with me, still attached to my hip. I walked over to the couch by the far wall and folded it out, making a bed. He let go of me by this time and sat on the bed as I went to get a pillow and a blanket from the closet. When I got back, he was still sitting in the exact same position as when I left. He seemed to be lost in thought; his eyes were glazed over and half-lidded. The blonde boy didn't even seem to notice that I had returned.  
  
"Hey, dobe," I called out. He instantly turned his head my way and glared. "Catch." I smirked and threw the blanket and pillow at him. Both things landed on his head, even though he held out his arms to catch them. What a klutz....  
  
"Heh..." I said. He looked up from trying to arrange the pillow. "Do you want a pair of pajamas? 'Cause I mean, I really don't think that you have any." He huffed at me.  
  
"I'm just fine, thank you very much!" He folded his arms over his chest.  
  
I smirked again. "Whatever." I turned towards my room to leave, but I faced his way again for a second. "Dobe," I added. He angrily puffed his cheeks out, like he did before the mission to the Mist Continent. I chuckled and headed into my room, not without flicking off the light on him on the way. I closed the door, the only source of light that was left to him, and a loud thump was heard followed by random curses on my name. I shook my head and crawled into bed.  
  
I did a bit of thinking before drifting off, because only now I really thought about what Naruto said when he first came here. Someone was chasing him? Who? And why? A sudden possessiveness coursed through me like wildfire; who would dare try and go after my Naruto?! Wait a second, mine?!? Since when did I consider Naruto mine? Okay, maybe I'm a little protective of him, but I don't like him like that!  
  
Drowsiness caught hold of me suddenly and my eyes started to droop, my last thought being, 'I don't like him...'  
  
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I was awoken suddenly by someone latching themselves onto my arm. Using my free arm, I reached over and grabbed the kunai I kept on the side table, sitting up, grabbing the person, and holding the blade to their throat. I couldn't see the person, as it was still dark in the room, but I could tell that they were slighter then I was. A familiar scent assaulted my nose and let go of the slightly coughing person.  
  
"Naruto?!" I exclaimed through the darkness. I could just make out his silhouette against the window. "What the hell are you doing?!" He latched himself onto my arm again.  
  
"I-I heard t-these noises a-and I thought that G-Gaara was coming after me again...." I could tell that he was looking at me with his big baby blue eyes. But wait a minute, Gaara? He was the one after Naruto?!  
  
"Gaara?" I asked. "Are you sure that's what his name was?" I felt him nod against my arm, his hair tickling slightly. "Do you mean Gaara of the Sand?" He didn't answer. I forced him to release my arm and I sat him directly across from me, our knees touching. I put my hands on his shoulders and held him at arms length. "Naruto, was it Gaara of the Sand?"  
  
He looked around for a moment, as if struggling to find the words. "I-I don't know.... I know that he had this symbol on his forehead... 'Love' I think it was. And that he has this big gourd on his back... Oh yeah..! He had this weird crimson color hair... and no eyebrows!"  
  
I sighed and dropped my hands from his shoulders. "That's Gaara of the Sand, all right. But what's he doing here so early? The Chunin exams don't start for another few weeks yet..." I let my head loll backwards, as far as it would go. "Hmmm...."  
  
This was when Naruto spoke up. "Why? Who's Gaara of the Sand, anyway? Is he important or something??" My head snapped up and I looked at him hard. He flinched.  
  
"Gaara is a ninja from the Sand Continent," I started. "He's been well known for a while now because of what he does best. And what he does best... is kill." Naruto froze on the spot. I looked away and gazed out of the window. "It's said that the gourd on his back is made from sand and the blood of all the people he's ever killed. He can use the sand to his advantage, because he uses it in all of his jutsus. If he comes after you again, get away from him as fast as you can."  
  
I looked back to Naruto through the darkness and saw that he was shaking again. I know what I said was a bit much to handle, but I've never known Naruto to tremble. A sudden thought occurred to me; was Naruto not telling me something? I was about to ask him, but he spoke up first.  
  
"Sasuke..." he said quietly. I had to strain my ears to hear him. "W-what if Gaara isn't trying to kill me..?" I raised an eyebrow.  
  
"What do you mean?" He looked down. "Naruto?"  
  
"............."  
  
He started swaying back and forth, like he usually did when he was bored or couldn't find the right thing to say. The silence rung in my ears as I stared at the top of his head, waiting for him to continue.  
  
"Sasuke...." he mumbled. I nodded to show that I'd heard him, but I don't think he saw it. He continued regardless. "I think he... think he might... might.. like me....." He looked up at me to see my reaction.  
  
My eyes widened in shock. At first I didn't believe him, but then I thought about it; Gaara could have easily killed Naruto if he had the mind to. But he didn't. And that didn't seem like the kind of thing Gaara would do. He was known for killing at random, for no apparent reason other than he could. I looked up Naruto to see that he was crying again. Silently, for I don't think he was about to give up his pride in front of me right yet. He spoke up suddenly.  
  
"Why did he have to like me..?" he cried softly. "W-what did I do to deserve this...?" He sniffed. Then he hiccupped. And then he grabbed one of my pillows and buried his face in it. He laid down on his stomach and continued to try and smother himself. I kneeled beside him and put my hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Naruto, it's not your fault," I said. I must admit, I'm not very good at comforting people. Probably because I've never been comforted by anyone before. He refused to remove his face from my pillow. "Naruto, look at me, would you?" Hesitatingly, he replied, bringing his whole body up and sitting in front of me again. Only this time it was him sitting and me on my knees, instead of both on our knees. The dried tearstains on his face were blotched because of the pillow. Oh Naruto, my poor, poor Naruto. You shouldn't have to bear this pain. If I could take it from you I would.  
  
I suddenly reached my arms out and pulled his slight body towards mine. He froze, but eventually relaxed again by the time he was comfortably sitting in my lap. Each of his legs were on either side of my waist, straddling me slightly. My arms were around his shoulders in an embrace and, this took a moment though, he laid his head on my shoulder and wrapped his arms around my middle. We sat there for a minute or two before I disrupted the blissful silence.  
  
"Naruto, you can always look to me for someone to lean on," I whispered. I felt him shiver from my warm breath on his ear. "And I'll always be here to listen, dobe." I smirked. "Just don't get all touchy feely out in public. I have a reputation to protect, you know." I listened to him as he chuckled. The rumbling in his chest sent shivers down my spine.  
  
When we pulled apart, I noticed that he wasn't wearing anything related to a shirt. All he had on was his orange pants. I could feel my face heating up, but luckily, I don't think he could see it through the semi-darkness. I was expecting him to get up and leave for his own bed, but he seemed reluctant to get up off of my bed.  
  
He turned to face me, and I swore I could see his cheeks go a shade darker. "S-Sasuke..?" he asked, shyly almost.  
  
"Hmm?" was my reply.  
  
He seemed to go an even darker shade. "Could I, uh.... sleep with you?" He looked at me hopefully.  
  
I nearly choked when I thought he meant something else. I mentally slapped myself when I realized his true meaning; he simply wanted to sleep in the same bed as I did. Man, if I keep going on like this, I'm gonna end up like Kakashi-sensei. "Sure," I said. He breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
"Thanks..." he murmured, before pulling back the covers and getting under them. He snuggled down contently before closing his eyes and attempting to go to sleep. I took one last glance at his passive face and got under the covers myself, lying on my back.  
  
I simply lay there with my eyes half open, listening to the boy beside me breath. Pretty soon his breathing became longer and more steadily, so I could tell that he was finally asleep. I turned my head and glanced over at him to see that he was smiling, a small smile that was nothing like the fox smile he's accustomed to wearing, but a little, gentle one. He looks so serene when he's asleep; I've noticed that from the few times that I've seen him sleeping while we were supposed to be doing a mission.  
  
My body suddenly developed a mind of its own. I shifted over and wrapped my arms around Naruto's waist, pulling him closer to me. I buried my face into his hair and prayed to every god that I knew the name of that he wouldn't wake up. His breath tickled the skin on my neck with every breath he took.  
  
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A/N: Rin: I so don't think we did Sasuke IC...... -----...----- Really, I don't. And I TOLD you Naruto would be acting like a little girl in this fic!! And don't worry all you KakaIru fans, there's gonna be at least a mentioning of them in the next chapter!! ^_~  
  
Yami Rin: I think we did a pretty good job. You did a good job on the fluffy parts! And.... there weren't many angsty parts so.... I didn't really do all that much this chapter. Oh well, there's always next chapter!! X3 Oh yeah! Anyway people, REVIEW!!!! This time, flames will be used to roast marshmallows and keep us warms at night (it gets very cold up here in Canada. Where we live, anyway....).  
  
Rin: Would some people be able to tell me if they think that Sasuke was IC or OOC? Pwease?? :3 I'll be very happy if you do! And just as a note, SHAMAN KING EPISODES ARE GONNA BE ON FOX IN THE FALL!!!! I CAN'T WAAAAAIIIIITTT!!!!!! XDDDDDDD 


	4. ch3

disclaimer : If only.... If only.  
  
A/N : Rin: FanFiction.net is out to make us look bad!! We updated and put up chapter 3, but the fic stayed at #, like, 134 or summit!! What a bitch...... :P Not only that, but it cut out like, half of the review answers!!! Grrrrr..... I'm so mad! So then we had to remove chapter 3 to put it up again, yet it STILL cut out the review answers!!  
  
Yami Rin: *sighs* Yes, it IS unfortunate, but it's probably cuz YOU replaced the vacation note with chapter 3, aibou. Tis probably why it didn't work as you would have liked it to.  
  
Rin: Shaddup..... Well, I guess we'll put the review answers at the end of the chappies from now on.  
  
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Summary: Naruto is harassed by Gaara one day. Over the course of the following week, the panda-eyed boy doesn't let up, and is scaring Naruto just a little. Naruto goes to Sasuke, for an UNKNOWN (***!!!HINT!!!HINT!!!***) reason.  
  
Things to know: 1) The authoresses are crazy  
  
2) Naruto will be acting like a little girl in this fic (maybe)  
  
3) {blah blah} = author's notes  
  
4) "blah blah" = speech  
  
5) A lot of, /////'s = change of scene, or end of chapters  
  
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WARNING!!!!!!!!!: THIS FIC WILL CONTAIN SHONEN AI IN LATER CHAPTERS!!! FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS, IT'S 'BOY LOVE'!!!!!!! SASUNARU AND ONE SIDED GAARA/NARUTO!!!!!!!!! WILL ALSO CONTAIN KAKAIRU!!!! MAYBE SOME GRAPHIC STUUF, TOO!!!!!!!!  
  
Warning 2: Rin: This chappie contains brief Naruto angst, which Yami Rin is very proud of.  
  
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Even The Cold Burns by Rin Kin and Yami Rin  
  
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Chapter Three  
  
[Naruto's POV]  
  
I awoke the next morning by the sunlight coming in through the window. I scrunched my eyes up in attempt to block it out, but it worked as well as if you wanted to block words from coming out of my mouth. Didn't work. There was a weird weight on my waist, but I didn't bother to check it out. I lazily slipped my eyes open, fully expecting to get an eyeful of my ninja apartment, but what I saw made my eyes widen in shock.  
  
All I could see, basically, was a finely built chest and neck. It took my mind a few seconds to realize this, of course, but when I did, you can't imagine the blush that crept onto my face. I really didn't want to move, but I forced my eyes to look up into the face of whoever the hell had the nerve to sneak into my own house and snuggle with me. I fleetingly hoped that it wasn't Gaara. I choked when I did look, but tried my damned hardest not to make a sound. Black hair was cascading down a smooth face that seemed to be made of pure ivory, and eyelids of the same color covered eyes that made the most piercing glare.  
  
Sasuke.  
  
Vaguely I wondered what he was doing in my house (not that I was complaining), but then the events of the previous night replayed in my mind. I wasn't in my own house at all! I was in Sasuke's. I mentally hit myself in the head; how could I forget about last night?  
  
Wow, that didn't sound all that healthy..... Ack!! Bad Naruto! Bad, bad!! No more perverted thoughts.......  
  
Yes, anyway. It seemed that I had stirred during my thinking, and when I looked back up to Sasuke's face, he was staring down at me, eyes as impassive as ever. He pulled away from me suddenly, saying something about how he hadn't realized that it was him me he was holding onto, and such. Wait, holding onto me? When was he...? Oh. THAT was the weight on my waist. He got up and left the room, the door making a resounding 'click'. Using one of my arms, I pushed myself up and stared after him, longing for him to come back.  
  
I sighed. I knew that he could never like me as more then a friend. Wait, did he even consider me as a friend? Or was I just a rival to him, someone to spar with every now and then? But then, why did he let me stay? Did he feel as if he had an obligation to look after me or something? I fleetingly hoped that I wasn't just a burden to him....  
  
Shaking my head, I swung my legs over the bed and put them on the floor. I shivered. The floor wasn't as warm as it seemed last night. I made my way to the door and grabbed the handle, then hesitated. What was I afraid of?  
  
I shook my head again and turned the knob, pushing the door open. I was greeted by the sight of his living room, in daylight this time, and where my makeshift bed was. Was being the key word there. It seemed that Sasuke had folded the bed back up and put the sheets away. I snorted; what a neat freak.....  
  
Over the course of the next hour, I think I got to see a part of Sasuke, like, twice. I saw an arm the first time, I think, and I saw a piece of hair the second time. Was he avoiding me? By the time I was set to leave, he had already left! What a bastard!! I'll have to put a load of duck crap in his bed later. Heh heh heh, that'll teach him to ignore ME! My trademark fox smirk appeared on my face as I thought of my plan.  
  
I arrived at the usual meeting place only a little bit late; one wasn't really late if one is before one's teacher. That's my philosophy. Anyway, when I got to the street, Sakura was standing there, trying to start a conversation with Sasuke, who, when I waved at him, wouldn't look at me. So I glared at him. My brows scrunched up as I tried to think of what I could have done to him to make him suddenly hate me so much. I couldn't really think of anything..... Wait! Isn't he supposed to hate me, and we're supposed to be rivals and such? Duh, he's acting like this because he doesn't really want me to stay with him and he's just too stubborn to say no!  
  
I was standing by myself on one side of the street for a while. While you're by yourself, the strangest things can run through your head. Like a memory. One flashed through my head for a second, at that point in time. It was of me, sitting of the swing outside the ninja academy. I was about seven, and I was watching all the other kids with their parents, all waiting to hear if they'd been accepted into the academy. Tears welled in my eyes as I thought about it, but I forced them back; I wouldn't cry! I couldn't!! I promised myself, never again would I cry. I stared at the ground and began mumbling a song I knew.  
  
"Don't try to live so wise," I mumbled to the tune of the song. "Don't cry 'cause you're so right. "Don't dry with fakes or fears "'Cause you will hate yourself in the end."  
  
As the chorus came out of my mouth, I felt like I was being watched. I looked up and saw Sasuke gazing at me gently, Sakura idly prating on at his side. Our eyes locked for about three seconds before he looked away.  
  
I sighed. He would never like me as more then a rival. And it pissed me off!  
  
My sudden anger faded as I felt like I was being watched again. My head snapped up and I looked around. Sasuke was silently brooding, eyes closed, and Sakura was trying desperately to get his attention. I couldn't see anyone else but I couldn't shake off the feeling.  
  
"Ohayou, everyone!"  
  
I looked up at the new voice and saw Kakashi walking up to us. Sakura jumped up and pointed an accusing finger at him. "You're LATE!!!" she exclaimed.  
  
He rubbed his head sheepishly. "Gomen, but Iruka wanted me to do something for him and, ahh....."  
  
I snorted. Of all the excuses I've heard our sensei use, that had to be one of the worst. Of course Iruka wanted him for something! Ever since the two had been introduced before our trip to the Mist, they'd been all over each other. Not everyone knew this, of course, but I could get anything I wanted out of Iruka-sensei.  
  
"So, what is our mission for today, Sensei?" Sasuke asked, a bored look on his face.  
  
Kakashi smiled at us from under his mask. Or, at least it looked like a smile, 'cause you could never really be sure with this guy. "For today," he said, "we will be picking up litter in a nearby stream. The old lady who lives near there suddenly stopped picking up the garbage from the stream and someone hired us to do it for today."  
  
My face fell. After what we'd been through in the Country of Waves, we could handle almost anything, and here we were doing these half-baked jobs for some old lady who can't do her own yard work. I sighed, yet followed Kakashi when he started walking away with Sasuke and Sakura. I could feel Sasuke glancing at me, but whenever I turned to look at him, he would be staring ahead. What a weird son of a bitch.... I cannot believe that I think he's attractive.  
  
When we got to the old lady's house, it looked like it hadn't been tended to in weeks. There was quite a bit of garbage littered here and there, and the grass was long and gangly. I could see a stream running just a few feet away from the end of the yard. That too was littered with garbage.  
  
"Kakashi-sensei!!" I exclaimed. "Do we HAVE to do this crumby mission? Just 'cause of some stupid old lady??"  
  
He looked at me with a glint of amusement in his one showing eye. He simply laughed and continued on into the yard, Sakura, Sasuke and me following close behind. He stopped suddenly and pulled three bags and three sticks out of the little pouch that was attached to his hip. How he fit it all in there, I'll never know. He handed each of us a bag and a stick, and told us to go pick up the litter. I almost told him that he could shove the litter where the sun don't shine, but I never got to because he started reading 'Come-Come Paradise'. How he could read a book like that and still fight like he does is beyond me.  
  
The rest of us spread out along the whole place and started picking up the pieces of crap, sorry, garbage. I randomly poked at some things, and if it didn't stay on the damn stick, it was too bad for that.  
  
My feet had carried me over by the stream so I poked at a particularly big chip bag. It stuck to the stick so I shoved it in the garbage bag. A bunch of sand poured out of it, and I involuntarily shivered. Why did it have to be sand that poured out? Why not a fish with no tail, or a crab that was missing a limb? But no, it had to be sand which reminded me of Gaara. That guy creeped me out!! But hey, at least he paid attention to me. Not the kind of attention I'd want from that kind of guy but....  
  
Stop it, Naruto!! I cannot think like that!  
  
But it's true; he IS paying attention to me, unlike Sasuke.....  
  
What about last night?? Sasuke paid plenty of attention to me then!  
  
But this morning he was all.....  
  
He was probably just embarrassed! Nothing to worry about!  
  
My eyes snapped open and I froze. Wow. I just had a conversation with myself and I didn't even realize it. I must have been thinking really hard to be able to do something like that and not realize it.  
  
I once again focused on my surroundings and I was shocked to see that I was in the middle of the woods. I looked back over my shoulder and I could faintly make out where the stream was. I must not have been concentrating on where I was going that much. I was about to turn around and go back when I felt a slightly familiar chakra. I froze in fear when I realized that it belonged to Gaara.  
  
Frantically, I looked around, trying to figure out where he was. I dropped the bag and the stick when two arms circled me from behind. I tried to turn my body around so that he would lose his grip on me but he was too quick; the arms held me to his chest so fast that all I could do was stand there, blankly starring ahead. A small flash of crimson hair was visible in the corner of my eye as a face was buried into my neck. He was doing it again! Why couldn't he just leave me alone?! My hands came up and tried to pry his arms off of me but his grip was too strong. I hated being weak!  
  
"Sweet, sweet kitsune..." he mumbled. "I want you so badly..." The sudden warmth on my ear sent me into shivers. My hands remanded on his arms but the grip tightened. I needed to get him off of me. Now! I feebly started to struggle.  
  
This made him chuckle. "Why do you resist..?" he said lowly. "I will have you, regardless." He kissed the side of my face and something hard was pressed against my ass. I was confused at first, but my eyes widened as I realized that it was his-  
  
My first instinct kicked in. I paniced. How old was this guy anyway?!? He was like twelve, right?! He shouldn't be getting a- Dear Kami-sama, why is this happening to me?? A pain on the side of my neck caused me to cry out. I squeezed my eyes shut in attempt to block out what was happening.  
  
The stupid son of a bitch BIT me! What the hell??! Something warm was running down onto my shoulder, and what I guessed was his tongue was lapping it up. 'Cause I mean, what else was all tongue-like!? Holy shit!! I wanna go home! My struggles picked up again as he continued to lick up my neck and face.  
  
"Gaara!!" I cried. "Let me go!!" He only continued licking me.  
  
A twig snapped to the left of me. Gaara's tongue stopped halfway up my neck and I could feel him look over to where the sound came from. His arms loosened and then released me. I slumped to the ground, whimpering. Dear God, why am I so weak? I closed my eyes and put my head down. I could feel the tears running down my face.  
  
Why was I so weak?  
  
Couldn't I take care of myself?  
  
Did I need to rely on others that much?  
  
I'm so useless....  
  
No wonder Gaara chose me....  
  
I faintly heard Gaara growl behind me. Obviously something was making him a little angry. He said something and then I lost the feel of his chakra. I then heard footsteps coming towards me from the other way, crunching the dead leaves as they quickened. I felt someone put their hands on my shoulders and shake me. I heard a voice too.  
  
"Naruto? Naruto?? Are you okay?? Naruto?!? Talk to me, please!!!"  
  
I knew that voice.  
  
"Sasuke!!" I cried. My head snapped up and I looked at him dead in the face. He was kneeling beside me, his eyes holding an unusual glint, almost as if he was worried about me. It would be so nice if he actually was worried. And then no more of this rivalry stuff. I stared hard at his chin. "Sasuke.." I said again, this time a little more quiet. "Gaara, he.... He was-- I couldn't get out of his grip on me-- I didn't know what to do--!!" I stopped as I looked into his eyes again. They held a strange glow to them, one I hadn't really seen before. It looked almost.... angry.  
  
The angry look faded somewhat as he reached over and stroked along my neck, where the bite mark was. I flinched and his hand pulled back.  
  
He pulled me up off the ground and stared at me in the eyes. It was really intense.... "Naruto," he said, "I promise you, I will protect you from Gaara." I looked up at him, shocked. "I swear it."  
  
Did he just..? He did. He just said that he'd protect me from Gaara. I smiled up at him gratefully. I knew that if I was in my right mind, I would have yelled at him for insisting that I needed protection from anything. But right now, I felt like.... I don't know actually. I really just don't know.  
  
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Rin: Another prime example that Naruto is gonna be acting like a little girl in this fic.  
  
Yami Rin: Oh, come on, you cannot honestly tell me that you didn't have fun on this chapter. Rin, if you say you didn't, you HAVE to be lying!! ^____~  
  
Rin: All you enjoyed was the Naruto angst!!! ---_---* And here are the review answers of last chapter! I hope they don't get cut out......  
  
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Morien Alexander - Rin: Hee hee ha!! Breath of sunshine! ^___^ That one really made my day! *continues to giggle*  
  
Jiro - Yami Rin: Yes, now that I've read over Sasuke's chapter, I REALLY think that he's OOC. *shrugs* What can you do? Anyway, thankx!!  
  
Anime Lass - Rin: I don't really know as to why we put it before the Chunin exams. Just did, I guess.  
  
Zephyr Wind - Yami Rin: This here is Rin's cousin!! She's just like Rin in every way, except for the fact that in a little 'Which Naruto Character Are You?' quiz, she was Sasuke and Rin was Naruto. Anyway, thankx Zephyr!  
  
Ginji-ban - Rin: I'm glad you liked it, Ginji-chan! ^___^ Ban-chan too!  
  
tenshineechan - Yami Rin: I wanna see how we develop this plot too. Heh heh... cuz I have absolutely no idea as to what Rin has planned. I'm only her Yami, after all!! *is being sarcastic on the yami bit*  
  
kanzaki - Rin: It is cute, isn't it? It was s'pose to be an angst fic, but it turned into this. ^___^;; Whoopsie!  
  
lily day - Yami Rin: Well, as you can see, what's happening with the three is beginning to have a plot. But only starting to...  
  
Kechia - Yami Rin: He's gonna be... How shall I put this..? A little bit pissed off, I'd say! X3  
  
Muchacha - Rin: Yes, sissy Naruto!! But isn't he just so kawaii?? I should have him as a little add in thingy in the author's notes... Hmmmm............... *goes into deep thought.. which is REALLY hard for a girl such as Rin!*  
  
firedragon97 - Yami Rin: They'd better not do a horrible dubbing job!! :D Grrrrrr..... Yes, anyway, firedragon97, please update your fic, "A Twist of Fate," pretty soon. Pwease? :3  
  
:D - Rin: Cool pen-name! Thankies!!  
  
Iceheart19 - Yami Rin: Really? You think Sasuke was IC? Wow. I didn't think anybody would! ^_______^  
  
dreamsprite1 - Rin: I'm not sure if this is longer or not, but, hey! At least I found someone who's like me!  
  
Vin - Yami Rin: Thankx! I love pockies! Twah ha ha!!  
  
WuffieLuver - Rin: Yes, another point for Sasuke. BUT!!! Gaara will get a few points, too!! Eventually..... ^__^;;  
  
gelfling - Yami Rin: Tis sad that it's only a one-sided GaaraxNaruto. We might be tempted to write an actual GaaraxNaruto fic one day. *dreamily sighs*  
  
xxkurenaixx - Rin: *giggles* Yeah!! Yet another person who's like me! X3 WAH!!!!  
  
Jekyll - Yami Rin: I luv stuff like that too. Just never thought that I'd be writing one... Er, typing one.  
  
Kanji - Rin: YES!!! Shaman King is coming to Fox in the Fall!! On September 6th to be exact!! I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!!!! XDDDDDD  
  
Moi - Yami Rin: Heh heh, the demon typos were my bad. *sheepish look*  
  
Tammy14 - Rin: Why thank you! And I most definitely will!! (heh heh, that sounded kinda corny....)  
  
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Rin: Well, there you have it! This time, they better not get erased.....  
  
Yami Rin: Or there will be HELL TO PAY!!!!  
  
Sissy Naruto: *who is really just a chibi, wussy Naruto* Umm.... Why does Gaara pick on me so much..?  
  
Yami Rin: ;;O.O;; *is shocked that Rin actually put him in here* *faints*  
  
Rin: Awwww!! *huggles Sissy Naruto* Don't worry, your big strong Sasuke will save you!! *starts bawling big anime tears that go everywhere*  
  
Sissy Naruto: ^_^;;  
  
Rin: *sniffs* Sissy Naruto, say the line like I taught you.... Pwease?  
  
Sissy Naruto: Sure!! *takes a big breath* PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!! *smiles happily*  
  
Rin: Idn't he kawaii? Thank you to Muchacha for the idea!! And, as he said, PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!! 


	5. ch4

disclaimer : Not yet.  
  
A/N : Rin: *is snuffed up* Sowwy if this update has been slow, it's just that I'm getting a bit sick. *sneezes* Heh heh...  
  
S Naru: Awww. Poor, poor, Rin-chan.  
  
Yami Rin: 'Heh heh'?!? A BIT sick?! You're basically dying!!! XDD Get to bed right now!!! *shoved her hikari into her soul room* And don't you come out until you're all better!!!  
  
Rin: @_@;; *gets in bed*  
  
Yami Rin: ;) See? I know how to take care of a sick person! And anyways, yes, Rin is sick, so I'm gonna be in all the authors notes!! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!!!! *a faint coughing is heard from Rin's room* Eh heh heh.... In this chapter anyways. ^__^;;; I have to go practice with my chopsticks..... *goes and twiddles the two sticks in her hand*  
  
S Naru: Hee hee!! I love being in the author's notes!! There're so much fun!  
  
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Summary: Naruto is harassed by Gaara one day. Over the course of the following week, the panda-eyed boy doesn't let up, and is scaring Naruto just a little. Naruto goes to Sasuke, for an UNKNOWN (***!!!HINT!!!HINT!!!***) reason.  
  
Things to know: 1) The authoresses are crazy  
  
2) Naruto will be acting like a little girl in this fic (maybe)  
  
3) {blah blah} = author's notes  
  
4) "blah blah" = speech  
  
5) A lot of, /////'s = change of scene, or end of chapters  
  
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
WARNING!!!!!!!!!: THIS FIC WILL CONTAIN SHONEN AI IN LATER CHAPTERS!!! FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS, IT'S 'BOY LOVE'!!!!!!! SASUNARU AND ONE SIDED GAARA/NARUTO!!!!!!!!! WILL ALSO CONTAIN KAKAIRU!!!! MAYBE SOME GRAPHIC STUUF, TOO!!!!!!!!  
  
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Even The Cold Burns by Rin Kin and Yami Rin  
  
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Chapter Four  
  
[Gaara's POV]  
  
I definately gave him the right nickname. Amai, sweet. I can still taste his blood in my mouth and I am loving it.  
  
But only one thing is standing in my way of me and my beloved....  
  
Uchiha Sasuke.  
  
I had my little kitsune in the right place, oh did I ever. Sweet, sweet contact... His back was fully pressed against my front. Torso to torso, hips to hips, neck to neck, my arms wrapped around his chest. It felt like heaven.  
  
But I think he was a little bit surprised to find that I had become aroused by our little... foreplay, if you will. The demon inside me makes me go through things a bit faster than normal boys would. I had thrust my hips into his backside slightly, suggestively, and he started to panic. When he did that, it created the most pleasurable friction onto my groin. I had nearly moaned aloud, and if I hadn't bitten him, I think I would have. But his blood was almost too sweet to be blood. I just couldn't help but lap it up. Now I had marked him as my own.  
  
He continued to wriggle but he couldn't get away from me. After he was too tired to struggle anymore, I was planning to bring him back to my 'new house' and there he would stay until I was ready to leave. Which would be just after the Chunin exams. And he would leave with me, his consent or not.  
  
But then, HE came. That accursed boy, the Uchiha. He had snapped a twig in his haste to get to my Naruto and had gotten my attention instantly. I had looked over, in mid-lick, and saw him standing there, eyes wide and angry. My eyes had narrowed and I released my hold on Naruto, letting him slump to the ground. I growled before I backed up and gave a muttered, "Ahou*," before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.  
  
I then landed on a nearby branch, to watch what Uchiha would do. The boy immediately went to my kitsune's side and shook his shoulders. I gritted my teeth and seethed; no one was allowed to touch him! He was mine...  
  
Their lips were suddenly moving and I strained my ears to be able to make out what they were saying.  
  
"-out of his grip on me-- I didn't know what to do--!!" That was Naruto's voice, a bit panicked. He looked into the face of Uchiha. The darker one looked angry. He then reached out his hand and stroked along the kit's neck. Jealousy ran through my veins like a drug. I listened again when Uchiha started to speak.  
  
"Naruto," I heard him say, "I promise you, I will protect you from Gaara. I swear it." I snorted slightly. Him? Protect Naruto from me? Not even if a ball of snow survived with Hades. Naruto was mine, whether HE accepted it or not.  
  
Fire coursing through my veins, I lept from the tree and proceeded to go back into the house. It was out of pure luck that the elderly lady I had killed was the one who always cleaned the stream up every other day. I was merely meditating when I had felt the blonde's chakra. I had immediately gotten to my feet to search for him.  
  
It had been just my good fortune that his whole team was with him, as well.  
  
He had gone off on his own, into the forest. I had smirked at my own fortune; him, totally alone, and extremely close to me. What more could I have asked for? I had then pounced. You know the rest of what happened.  
  
I sneered as Uchiha left with Naruto. My eyes narrowed as I watched him put his arm around the kit's shoulders. How badly I had I wanted to simply throw a shuriken and end his pathetic life? Quite a bit. It seemed that he had a lot to learn in the ways of love. Naruto was mine. He had no right to simply do as he pleased to the boy! He needs to learn a lesson, the hard way.....  
  
The rest of my day was spent thinking murderous thoughts about Uchiha. He must have been the one the fortune teller warned me about. He would NOT get Naruto. The kitsune belonged to me.  
  
Night fell sooner then I anticipated. I had been hoping to be able to hunt for food before it became dark. Oh well. I must go and warn the Uchiha. He will not be touching Naruto any longer. For if he does, I will be forced to take action.  
  
It took me longer then I thought it would to find where he lived. I assumed that Naruto was staying with him because the kitsune wasn't at his own residence, and there was only so many places that he could stay. It was quite sad how the people hated him, because of the power that they were afraid of. But that is the way of the world; people will always fear what they do not know about, thus spitting upon it and loathing it.  
  
But I would not, no, will not do that to my precious kit, for we are alike. We have many differences, and yet it is that one similarity that binds us together forever. I believe it was a thing called destiny that placed us together.  
  
Now, I must get back to the task at hand.....  
  
I saw him through the window of his home from my position on the building beside it. He was reading, a book on tactics if my eyes proved correct, which they always were. There was only a little bit of light resonating from a lantern beside him, but as far as I could tell, the window was open. Perfect.  
  
I leapt, landing soundlessly on the small window sill, yet he knew I was there regardless.  
  
"What do you want?" he asked, not looking up from his book, his voice carrying a trace of hatred. For me, obviously.  
  
"You know exactly what I want," was my reply. "I want him, Uchiha. My Naruto."  
  
He glared at me suddenly, his book on the floor, him on his feet. I was unfazed. I was expecting as much. He was about two feet from where I crouched before he spoke again. "He is not yours, Gaara," he spat. "He never was, and never will be." If it was possible, his glare intensified.  
  
"So he is yours?" I mocked him.  
  
He lowered his head. "He's no one's, unless he gives himself to them."  
  
I broke out into laughter. Dark, malicious laughter that sent a chill down the Uchiha's spine. I could tell. No one shivers unless it does. "You just do not get it, do you? Him and me, we are the same. That is why we are meant to be. I will have him, his consent or no, and he will be with me forever. That is the way it will be."  
  
His head snapped up and I swore I could see a change happening in his eyes. I would have raised an eyebrow, if I had one to raise.  
  
"Yes?" I taunted. "Is something the matter?"  
  
"If you touch him again, I will see to it myself that you never live to see another day." I could tell by the look in his eyes that he meant it. I simply smirked. I found this situation so amusing.  
  
"Funny," I stated. "I was going to say the same thing to you." My smirk disappeared and I glared at him. "So let that be your warning. Touch what is mine once more, and you will face the wrath of the Sand. It is something that you will not want to see." With that said, I leapt from the sill and into the night to hunt.  
  
I felt his eyes following me the entire time.  
  
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Yami Rin: Rin's still sick. So Sissy Naruto's gonna have to help me answer the reviews.  
  
S. Naru: Yeah!! *squeals* This is so much fun!!!! X3  
  
Yami Rin: O.o;; What a weird little... thing he is, ne?  
  
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crack baby - Yami Rin: Sorry, not that many fluffy scenes in this chapter, but it IS Gaara's POV after all. But, hey, we updated!  
  
xxkurenaixx - S. Naru: I don't suck!! *sniffs* Oh well, you're right, at least Sasuke's there.  
  
Vin - Yami Rin: Heh heh heh..! You are so just like me. Tis not funny..... Thankies for the review!  
  
Sonha - S. Naru: More KakaIru? 'Kay!! I'll be sure to tell Rin that you want more fluff! *eats some* Wahhh, fluff is good.....  
  
Cheryl-chan - Yami Rin: I-it's YOU!!! OMG, you wrote Breath!!!! WAHHHH!!!!!! I so happy!!!! Happy enough that I sound like Rin!!! *takes a breather* Okay, I'm better now. I just can't believe that you reviewed. O.O Wow..... I feel like I just won some kinda prize or something. Tis crazy...... THANKIES!!!!!! Favorite story list! Holy crap, I feel so special! @__@ *is still amazed that you reviewed*  
  
:D - S. Naru: They know that, it was just a bit of angst from Yami Rin.  
  
fERAL iMP - Yami Rin: Don't worry, I don't think we're THAT bad at writing yaoi graphic stuff. And that's the point! Gaara is s'pose to get closer each time! Makes our world go round.... And maybe Sasuke's guarding WILL be a little off one day..... Maybe.  
  
Muchacha - S. Naru: Tee hee! You're the reason I'm here! Loves ya.... And you think that shoulda happened? Really?? Cool! *does a cute face*  
  
CrazyAce - Yami Rin: Blunt, ne? Oh well, bluntness is how I ended up being Rin's yami. Damn gods, sealing me in a Vodka bottle.... Anyway, a threesome? You do know that they're only twelve, right? Oh well, maybe later.  
  
dreamsprite1 - S. Naru: Here's the update. Thankies for the review! Do it again!!! *hinthint*  
  
firedragon97 - Yami Rin: Piano, eh? Tis cool.... Although, the only musical thing I've heard is the flute (Rin plays it) and that sounds horrible.... Anyways, yeah. This is going great, huh? *head is floating from her giant ego* YOU!! Update soon anyways!! (forgive me if I'm being a bitch, it's just that I love your fic)  
  
Ruby-Tears - S. Naru: Teehee!! Yes, more SasuNaru fluff!! And I can't help it if I'm weak.... It's Rin and Yami Rin's fault!!  
  
Neko Senshi Erin - Yami Rin: Why, thank you! It IS a great story, isn't it? Yessss.........  
  
emjay-gurl13 - S. Naru: Your review was cool!! Wahh ha ha...!  
  
Escuro de la Lus - Yami Rin: Thank you, and sure thing. ^__________^  
  
The Dark Abyss - S.Naru: ^____^;; You sure know what you want, huh? But that's so cool!  
  
Julia Chang - Yami Rin: You've played Tekken, haven't you? Anyways.... The Kingdom Hearts fic?? That well... It seemed that our interests changed, but we'll get around to it sooner or later! Rin will, anyways. I wasn't around when she started that particular fic. I'm so young!! Not really but....  
  
Mistress Okami Kaminari - S. Naru: Whoops, this chappie isn't very long..! Tee hee... hee. Yes, and thankies for loving this!! ;3  
  
Ginji-ban - Yami Rin: That was a lot of glomping! O.O I'm not used to it. You have to update 'Orphan's Love' soon!! I really, really love that fic, and I wanna see more of it, really, really soon!!! :3 Pwease? Come on, you're making me sound like Rin, so now you HAVE to update!!! And you think we're the best?! *faints again*  
  
midd - S. Naru: Amazing, huh? Cool..! Hee hee hee! If you think you were drooling, you should have seen Rin when Yami Rin suggested putting a lemon in this ficcie!! I was nearly carried off by the current!! But I don't think that there'll be a lemon in this fic, unless they decide to put it on AdultFiction.net.  
  
Asuka! - Yami Rin: You think he's acting disturbing? Really?? But that's why I love him!! Him and all of his disturbing-ness.... That is SO not a word, but who the hell cares...  
  
Ladyschumon - S. Naru: Bwaahaha! Ramen lit dinner! Wait a minute, that's actually a good idea!! Let me go write that down....  
  
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S. Naru: *sniffs* No one said anything about me being all cute and cuddly.... =P  
  
Yami Rin: *pats him on the head* Maybe next time, Naru-chan. Maybe next time. Anyways, REVIEW!!!! Pwease? 


	6. ch5

disclaimer : Nope.  
  
A/N: Rin: This chappie took awhile.  
  
S. Naru: Yuppers.  
  
Yami Rin: You say that too damn much!! Shut the hell up with that!!!!! XD  
  
S. Naru: *sniff* You hate me.....  
  
Rin: *huggles S. Naru* Yami!!! You heartless, evil muffin!! Anyways, ON WITH THE CHAPPIE!!!!!  
  
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Summary: Naruto is harassed by Gaara one day. Over the course of the following week, the panda-eyed boy doesn't let up, and is scaring Naruto just a little. Naruto goes to Sasuke, for an UNKNOWN (***!!!HINT!!!HINT!!!***) reason.  
  
Things to know: 1) The authoresses are crazy  
  
2) Naruto will be acting like a little girl in this fic (maybe)  
  
3) {blah blah} = author's notes  
  
4) "blah blah" = speech  
  
5) A lot of, /////'s = change of scene, or end of chapters  
  
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
WARNING!!!!!!!!!: THIS FIC WILL CONTAIN SHONEN AI IN LATER CHAPTERS!!! FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS, IT'S 'BOY LOVE'!!!!!!! SASUNARU AND ONE SIDED GAARA/NARUTO!!!!!!!!! WILL ALSO CONTAIN KAKAIRU!!!! MAYBE SOME GRAPHIC STUUF, TOO!!!!!!!!  
  
WARNING2: This chappie has a bit of SasuNaru goodness. Not a whole lot, but hey, what can ya do?  
  
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Even The Cold Burns by Rin Kin and Yami Rin  
  
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Chapter Five  
  
[Sasuke's POV]  
  
How dare he say Naruto was his and then threaten me. The ignorant bastard didn't know when to back off.  
  
I had been quite tempted to use the Sharingan Eye on him. The change had started to appear in my eyes before I knew it had. But I had to restrain myself; I would have the chance to fight him all in good time.  
  
I was up almost the whole night in case Gaara came back, except when I took small cat-naps unintentionally. I had watched over Naruto the entire night for fear that Gaara would try and sneak in and try something. By the time morning came and Naruto woke up, I had already gotten ready to leave.  
  
I waited for him this time though; he seemed a bit hurt when he got to the meeting place yesterday. It took him a little while to get ready. He slumped around my apartment tiredly, until he made himself a cup of cappuccino from powder that I had gotten from Kami knows where. Then he was his regular hyper self again. Then we left to go meet Kakashi and Sakura.  
  
We met in the same street we did the day before. Upon arrival, Sakura started fluttering her eyelashes at me. I had to resist the erge to retch. Just the thought of spending any time like THAT with her made me sick. Not that she was a bad person or anything; it's just that I didn't like her as she liked me.  
  
We got to the street again, about the same time we had yesterday, and we all sat down and waited for Kakashi-sensei to show up. God, that man was always late, wasn't he? Sakura had fallen asleep before he got there, somewhere off to the side. Something else interesting happened as well......  
  
Naruto had chosen to sit directly in front of me. I was leaning against a building, desperately trying to stay awake but my eyes didn't seem to want to stay open. I could feel my eyes twitch slightly as I struggled with them. Naruto looked at me curiously and leaned forward a little bit. Under his scrutiny, I blushed a little bit. Having those intense, sky blue eyes on you felt like you were either the luckiest person on the planet, or the most unlucky, depending on how he looks at you. Although now he was looking at me as though I was a three headed boar.  
  
"What are you looking at, dobe?" I asked him, feeling my face burning up.  
  
He pouted. He looked so damn..... adorable, for lack of a better word. If I had to find a specific word to describe him by, I wouldn't be able to. He's just so indescribably cute sometimes that words don't half cover it.  
  
"I'm looking at you, stupid," he said. "I'm trying to figure out why your eyes keep twitching like that... It really gets annoying to watch, ya know." He stared at me with his eyes slitted. How on earth did he see like that? I don't have a sweet clue.  
  
"What? If you don't want to look at my eyes, then don't, baka."  
  
His eyes snapped open and he glared at me. He leaned in a bit more and our noses almost bumped. Did he know what he was doing to me?? All I had to do was lean forward and we'd.....  
  
Before I had realized what I was doing, I DID lean forward. Our lips brushed slightly and I moved mine against his. He seemed to be frozen, yet all of my senses were overloading with the sweet taste of his lips. My eyes remained locked with his the whole time, until he slowly, hesitantly, started to kiss back. His eyes drooped shut, as did mine, and my hands trailed down his arms. He shivered.  
  
I was praying to the gods that he was kissing me back because he loved me, and not just because he was just going along with it.  
  
A brief sigh from Sakura interrupted our moment. We both jumped and backed away from each other, wanting to make it look like we were just sitting around, doing nothing. I looked over to the girl to see that she was still sleeping. I looked to Naruto and saw that he was blushing like mad, trying to look at anything but me.  
  
Turning my attention to myself, I realized that I was blushing like mad as well.  
  
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Our mission was, to put it bluntly, shit. We had another D-class mission, pulling weeds out of an herb garden for this large woman. Naruto, wanting to be the first done, accidentally pulled up almost all of the herbs.  
  
The woman had belted him.  
  
As we all walked away from the smallish house, Kakashi stared to speak.  
  
"Alright, that went..... well," he stated. "You are all free to go home, or do whatever you may wish to do. I have to see to a... certain someone." As he left with a poof of smoke, Naruto let out a snort.  
  
"Certain someone, huh?" he muttered. He suddenly snickered. "Well, Iruka- sensei's gonna have a BIG surprise tonight..!!"  
  
I raised an eyebrow; Iruka? What did Kakashi's certain 'someone' have to do with Iruka-sensei? The answer hit me suddenly. I resisted the erge to slap my forehead. Iruka WAS Kakashi's certain someone! How I didn't see it sooner was beyond me, but I think that they both needed each other. A scarecrow and a dolphin was an odd combination, but... it worked.  
  
I sighed slowly as I started to head home. If only Naruto and I could be that way. With a growled, "I'm leaving...", I jumped into the trees and started for home. I heard Sakura call out after me, but she was ignored.  
  
Mid jump to the next tree, I felt a chakra that I didn't quite recognize. I crouched in a tree almost above where Naruto and Sakura were standing, and just watched. It seemed that Konohamaru and his two flunkies decided to pay my teammates a visit. I watched them, but didn't eavesdrop. I found eavesdropping on people, when not payed for it, to be extremely rude.  
  
I almost left when two strange people suddenly came into view. One was a rather tallish male, about 15 or so, covered from head to toe in a black body suit. The other was a female, about the same age, with spiky, ragged blonde hair pulled back into two pigtails. They both had large weapons strapped to their backs.  
  
They both bore the symbol of the Sand on the headbands.  
  
Naruto, Sakura, Konohamaru, and them conversed for a brief minute before the male rushed forward and grabbed Naruto by the front of his shirt*. That caused my blood to boil. But what he said really pissed me off.  
  
"Maybe I should just kill this little shrimp and show you losers just how strong the Sand really is."  
  
I could see his hand gripping Naruto's collar tighten, and the brief look of fear in Naruto's eyes. That did it. I flung a random stone I found**, aiming straight for his arm. It hit, hard, and caused him to drop Naruto. The blonde fell flat on his back, and cried out slightly. He instantly backed up til he ran into Sakura's legs, glaring at the tall male the whole while. The male looked at where the stone came from, and spotted me.  
  
"What are you bastards doing in our village?" I questioned angrily.  
  
Sakura looked thrilled. "Sasuke-kun!!"  
  
Naruto blinked a few times in my direction. "Uhhh...."  
  
The male glared at me, black eyes slits. "Another guy who pisses me off," he muttered.  
  
I glared back. "Get lost!!" I exclaimed. It seemed like the Sand was invading our village. First Gaara, and now these two impudent assholes. Who next?  
  
"Kyaa!! So cool! Get him, Sasuke-kun!" I chose to ignore Sakura.  
  
The male growled at me. "Hey punk! Get down here!!" A pause. "I hate showoffs like you the most." He reached back and pulled out the spiked weapon on his back.  
  
The girl looked surprised. "Hey, you even going to use Karasu?"  
  
"Kankuro, stop it."  
  
I froze. I knew that voice. A glance at Naruto proved that he recognized it as well. He involuntarily shivered and his eyes widened. I looked for the source of the voice and found it hanging upside-down from a tree. His crimson hair flew towards the ground in flame-like resemblance, and his cruel aqua eyes glanced hungrily at Naruto before glaring detestingly (A/N: is that a word?) at Kankuro, I was guessing his name was.  
  
"You're an embarrassment to our village," Gaara spat.  
  
No one moved. Then-  
  
"Ga...Gaara..." Kankuro stuttered. He was afraid of Gaara. That almost surprised me. Almost. What surprised me even more was the fact that he had gotten near us without me sensing his chakra. I was utterly confused.  
  
"Him..?" I muttered. "When did he...?"  
  
He glanced over at me and smirked. "Yes, me..." he mouthed. He then murderously glared at Kankuro. "Losing yourself in a fight, how pathetic... Why do you think I told you to come to the Leaf Village?"  
  
"Listen, Gaara," Kankuro stuttered. "They started it and..."  
  
Gaara growled. "Shut up. I'll kill you."  
  
The taller male froze on the spot. "Ok, I'm sorry, really sorry....."  
  
Gaara suddenly turned to me and glared. "Sorry to you guys," he stated sarcastically. I glared back at him.  
  
He suddenly disappeared in a small tornado. He appeared again on the ground, next to a now standing Naruto and brushed against him. Naruto visibly shivered. I glared down at the top of Gaara's head, hoping that he would drop dead on the spot, and yet he didn't.  
  
"It looks like you guys got here too early," he said. "We didn't come here to play around."  
  
"I know that...." Kankuro muttered. "We came here to help you bring back the little one..."  
  
My eyes widened at that. Little One? Were they referring to Naruto?? I narrowed my eyes at Gaara turning back. He better damn well NOT be referring to Naruto, or there shall be hell to pay.....  
  
Gaara turned to leave. "Let's go." Kankuro and the girl followed closely behind him. I growled low in my throat and jumped down from the tree. As I landed, Gaara turned back to look at me.  
  
"What, Uchiha Sasuke?"  
  
I murderously glared at him. "Stay away from him."  
  
The redhead smirked. "Not a chance." He then turned and kept walking away with his two companions.  
  
A moment later, Sakura stepped forward.  
  
"Stay away from who, Sasuke-kun?"  
  
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*= We know, he originally grabbed Konohamaru, but it was too hard to resist!!  
  
**= Where the hell DOES he get that rock, anyways?!  
  
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A/N: Rin: So..... Another Sasuke chappy out, and I STILL think we did him OOC again....  
  
Yami Rin: Oh shut up and answer reviews!!  
  
S. Naru: *squeeky*  
  
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Ladyschumon - Rin: Hey!! You can't have Naru-chan, Gaara and Sasuke have to duke it out!!! Tee hee, gomen, bit of a spazmic moment there...  
  
Kechia - Yami Rin: Thankies!! Wah, I luvs reviews....  
  
Iceheart19 - S.Naru: Corrupted mind?? Yami Rin has one of those!! (YR: HEY!!!)  
  
firedragon97 - Rin: Weell, here's your update. School's in for me too. (Yami Rin and S. Naru don't have to go, the bastards...) Yes, and once thingys calm down, UPDATE!!! I love your fic too!!!  
  
Zephyr Wind - Yami Rin: You have no right to speak to my aibou like that!! Cousin or no, you're a bitch!!! Anyways, just cuz you want Naruto and Sasuke to be together, I think I might persuade Rin to put Gaara and Naruto together.... That'll teach YOU!!! BWAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!  
  
ginji-ban - S. Naru: Teehee, Rin loves to hear stuff like that from other peeps! :3 You three are so funny..... WE LOVES YOUUUUU!!!!  
  
midd - Rin: I actually don't know who's gonna win yet. ^__^;; I really should start planning that out, shouldn't I? Heh heh.....  
  
Muchacha - Yami Rin: Shrine to Gaara? I have one of those, in Rin's spare closet!! Maybe now we could start an online one!! *starts rejoicing over that idea*  
  
Morien Alexander - S. Naru: Yes, Sasuke-kun is very sweet, idn't he?? *bubbles* Gaara's sweet too, but..... Eep.  
  
Kameko-chan - Rin: Tee hee, I'm so glad that we do Gaara well!! He's one of me favorite bishies and I loves him right to death.... We all do a little, don't we? We do. You all know you love him.  
  
Juli - Yami Rin: Wow. Rin was right about something, people actually DO like Gaara!! (Gaara: HEY!!) Anyways, don't feel too bad about not knowing that much. At first, me and Rin didn't know that much either, but now look at us. We've gone insane. ^_________^  
  
Beta 4 Hire - S. Naru: Ummm..... I don't control that part of these two's fic making, but ok!!  
  
Tonaru - Rin: Heh heh, you sound just like a friend of mine! His name's Ciddy. I dunno, but I think you'd get along with him REALLY well. :3 I also like to torture him by teasing him about being gay. He's not though (or he says he's not) and he gets totally pissed off. Heh, go figure.  
  
LadyRune - Yami Rin: Heh heh heh...... You really think that we have a stereotype Naruto?? Umm, holy crap. You reviewed, like, all our fics. In one day. That's f*****g crazy!! And the hell? "Twelve year olds having crazy sex" card?! I know that I'm perverted, but I wouldn't tell Rin to type THAT! Holy ugh-bus.... I dunno, the other review, your "Thoughts" one, kinda made me all depressed. Not saying that it was a flame!! Hell no! But yanno.....  
  
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Rin: Well, that only took... *looks at watch* ...about five minutes!!! ;___; Ppl are being all slack on the reviews..... WE ONLY GOT FOURTEEN THIS CHAPPIE!!!!!!!!!! *bawls*  
  
Yami Rin: The hell?! Rin, some fics only get 1 review a chapter, you tool!!!  
  
Rin: Really?? Holy shit, I should be all, "YESSSS!!!" at the moment then, shouldn't I???  
  
S. Naru: Yup. Really, you should.  
  
Rin: Yes, and I would like to thank Ginji-ban for being so caring and stuff when I was sick!! It was so sweet to review and say those nice things!! Thankies!!!  
  
Yami Rin: Anyways, REVIEW!!!!  
  
S. Naru: Yuppers.  
  
Rin: *waves* BYE, GUYS!!!! 


	7. ch6

disclaimer : Not even if a snowball survived with Hades. (Hey, Gaara said that in this fic!!)  
  
A/N: Rin: Wow, this took us a long time to recover!!  
  
Yami Rin: That it did. (Wow, I'm starting to sound like Kenshin)  
  
S. Naru: Yuppers. Anyway, *squeeky* on with this chappie!!  
  
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Summary: Naruto is harassed by Gaara one day. Over the course of the following week, the panda-eyed boy doesn't let up, and is scaring Naruto just a little. Naruto goes to Sasuke, for an UNKNOWN (***!!!HINT!!!HINT!!!***) reason.  
  
Things to know: 1) The authoresses are crazy  
  
2) Naruto will be acting like a little girl in this fic (maybe)  
  
3) {blah blah} = author's notes  
  
4) "blah blah" = speech  
  
5) A lot of, /////'s = change of scene, or end of chapters  
  
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
WARNING!!!!!!!!!: THIS FIC WILL CONTAIN SHONEN AI IN LATER CHAPTERS!!! FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS, IT'S 'BOY LOVE'!!!!!!! SASUNARU AND ONE SIDED GAARA/NARUTO!!!!!!!!! WILL ALSO CONTAIN SLIGHT KAKAIRU!!!! MAYBE SOME GRAPHIC STUUF, TOO!!!!!!!!  
  
Warning 2: Heh heh.... This chappie isn't gonna have that much actions from Gaara, just about Naruto getting some advice. We just really need it for the plot (YR: What plot?!) and please don't mind it too much, m'kay?? 'Kay!!!  
  
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Even The Cold Burns by Rin Kin and Yami Rin  
  
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Chapter Six  
  
[Naruto's POV]  
  
I was still confused about what that Kankuro guy said. Little one? Who the hell?! They'd better not be talking about me!!! I am NOT little....  
  
I kept thinking about the kiss Sasuke gave me earlier. I was so shocked that I couldn't do anything at first. Well, I started to do something, til Sakura had to go all dreamy-sigh-in-her-sleep. It kind of pissed me off, a little. Oh man, it was sweet though!! Sasuke tasted like tomatoes sort of.  
  
Holy crap! I'm going all sentimental. Gross.....  
  
But I just can't stop thinking about it. Does this mean he likes me back?? Or was he playing a cruel joke? Kami, I wish I knew. I should probably talk to him, or something.  
  
NO!! If I talk to him, and he DOESN'T like me back, he'll never EVER speak to me again! Holy hells, this is complicated! I hate complicated things. Hate them like I hate black flies.  
  
Kami, all this thinking is going to my head. I've already made it home and it only took me, like, two seconds (to me, anyways). I've just really got to talk to someone! Or I'm going to explode, into a million pieces and never become the Hokage and never to marry Sasuke and have lots of kids!!  
  
Wait a sec, I'm a dude, so.... Aww, crap! Kami, I'm stupid...  
  
Skip my house, I'm going to Iruka's.  
  
It took me about five minutes to get there, half of which was going up stairs since he lives in a fourth story apartment. I hate stairs. When I got there, I started beating on the door. I think I kicked it a few times as well, but I can never be sure. It took Iruka about a whole thirty seconds to open the door, and by then I had already started leaping towards him. I caught him around the waist and we both fell to the floor.  
  
He laughed. "Naruto, what the heck are you doing?" he asked me light- heartedly. He looked up at me from his spot on the floor and I smiled at him. I was sitting on his stomach but he didn't mind. He never does, because we're like brothers!  
  
"Can't I visit my all-time favorite sensei anymore??" I smirked and got up off him.  
  
"Not without good reason," he said, smirking.  
  
"Heh heh heh..." I rubbed the back of my head.  
  
"So, Naruto, what DO you want from me today, hmm? Ramen, or maybe, ramen?"(A/N - Rin: Stupid, I know, but bear with me....) Iruka said, chuckling. I smiled sheepishly and sweat dropped. Why did he always think I wanted ramen from him? Am I that shallow? Come on!  
  
"No, Iruka-sensei, I wanted some advice...."  
  
He perked up. "Advice?" He looked shocked.  
  
"Oh, shut up and let me talk to you, would ya?!?"  
  
He laughed at me.  
  
"Whatever."  
  
We both stood up and made our way to the table. I pulled out a chair and plunked down into it. Iruka scolded me, saying that I could break the chair. I only smiled sheepishly again.  
  
"Anyway," he said. "What do you need advice for, Naruto?"  
  
I thought for a second. I mentally smirked; a joke would be freakin' awesome! "Ummm...." I laughed nervously. "I think I forgot!!" A vein popped in Iruka-sensei's forehead. "Oh, NOW I remember!" He looked at me as if saying, 'You'd better fucking well', but then I remembered that Iruka- sensei didn't swear. Go figure.  
  
"Well," I stated. "The thing is, I have a- I mean, a FRIEND of mine has a problem, and I wanted to help him by getting some advice from a teacher. So I'm here at your house, Sensei!!" He smiled at me knowingly. I knew that he knew what I meant. But I'm not gonna give HIM that satisfaction!!!  
  
"And what, Naruto, would be your FRIEND'S problem?" He smiled a bit too sweetly.  
  
"Well....." How would I put this? What did I say, that MY FRIEND has this weird Sand-nin who'd like nothing better then to shove his tongue down MY FRIEND'S throat, and that there was another guy (of whom MY FRIEND has a crush on) who just kissed him and MY FRIEND wanted to know if the guy really liked him or not? Eh, why the hell not? I've been just as blunt with everything else.  
  
So, I told him.  
  
Iruka did this weird nod thing every so often while I was speaking, and it was kind of annoying, but I ignored it. When I finished, he put his hand to his chin and looked like he was thinking. I could SO tell from the smile twitching at his lips that this was something he'd already thought about before and that he already had the answer to.  
  
"Well, Naruto," he said. "Tell your FRIEND to tell that Sand-nin that he isn't interested in him and to tell the guy of whom he has a crush on his feelings. I'm sure that the guy will understand his feelings, and even if he rejects him, I'm sure that they'll still be friends. As for the Sand- nin, if he keeps coming on strong, get your friend to talk to his sensei or something, so that they can arrange a sort of protection for him."  
  
I stared at him for a minute. Maybe he was right. Maybe I should just tell Sasuke how I felt and get it over with. If he rejects me, I'll be hurt as hell, but at least I won't be keeping it to myself anymore. And if he accepts me, well, I'll be jumping for joy! I smiled before hugging him. "Thank you Iruka-sensei!!" I exclaimed.  
  
He patted me on the head and smiled. "Any time, Naruto, any time." He loosely placed his arms around me.  
  
I stood up from his embrace and turned to leave. I turned my head and smiled at him before giving him a huge smile. "I'm going to tell my friend right now! He'll be so happy!" I then ran out his front door, waving to Iruka as I ran.  
  
I had to get to Sasuke's house and tell him how I felt, right now! I was so excited as I ran through the night towards his ninja apartment. I kept on fantasising about what would happen if he accepted me! Tee hee, it was so mushy that I am not going to share it with you. Maybe another time.  
  
About half way there, I was panting slightly. I stopped for a moment to catch my breath and saw something move from the corner of my eye. I looked over and it lead to an alleyway, covered in shadows. I gulped, fearing that it could be Gaara. I wasn't all that sure though, because I couldn't sense chakra as well as Sasuke or Sakura could.  
  
Feeling a bit brave, I called out, "Yo!! Come out!! I know you're there!!" The figure moved again and from the shadows stepped Sasuke.  
  
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A/N: Yami Rin: Well, that took us a bit longer then we expected.  
  
Rin: DUH!! We had to basically re-write this whole thing!! It took quite a bit of time.... Even though the chapter itself isn't that long, we had to get all the wonderful reviews back, and try to find our back-up hard drive.  
  
Yami Rin: That was a bitch.... :P  
  
Rin: That it was. Anyways, here's your wunnerful review answers!!! ^___^  
  
%%%%%%%%%%%  
  
Kechia - Rin: Tee hee, thankie!! ^___^ I'm so happy....!  
  
Asuka - Yami Rin: Heh, heh. I'd WOULD stuff S.Naru in a closet but Rin won't let me. Anyways, how could we make this NOT shonen ai?! Not that we'd want to, but seriously, HOW?!?! o__O And no we don't have MSN.  
  
Madoka - S.Naru: Tee hee, protective is so awesome!! Tee hee, I'm so loved..!!!! :3  
  
Beta 4 Hire - Rin: Here ya go! ;P Yeah, we updated!!  
  
Kahula & Kia - Yami Rin: Hey, Rin's always Naruto on character quizes too. And thank you!  
  
Ishida Kat - S.Naru: Bii!! I got a Sasuke plushie!! *hugs it and grins cutely*  
  
kaze_kitsune - Rin: O__O Wow, we write the best SasuNaru of all time?! WEH!!!! *faints in bliss, twitching* Amazing...!! Best ever......!!! Tee hee hee....!!!!!!!  
  
Sailor Book/Water Mistress - Yami Rin:Thank you and sure thing!  
  
Mikomiko - S.Naru: Hey, it's not my fault.... Rin and Yami Rin make me all non-fighting. I'd WOULD fight back, but they both suck!!!  
  
sarahchan - Rin: Yeey, my first death-threat!! *dances around* *stops* Wait a minute.... HEY!!  
  
xxkurenaixx - Yami Rin: Eh heh heh.... Everyone DOES want Naruto. Wow, that is so weird. (Rin: No it isn't!!)  
  
firedragon97 - S.Naru: Coo'. I really don't care who I'm paired with, cuz I have no say in it anyway. ^___^  
  
Ladyschumon - Rin: Awww, I want him too, but Sasuke would come out of the TV (like in the Ring!!) and kill me. No offence, but yanno, I just don't want Sasuke to pop out of YOUR TV and kill YOU. M'kay??  
  
Ginji-ban - Yami Rin: Don't worry about it, we meant every word! You really RULE Ginji-chan!! You too Ban-chan! You liked the kissing scene?? YEY!!!! We so happy!! ^________^  
  
Iceheart19 - S.Naru: Tee hee, so do I!!  
  
midd - Rin: Sure thing!! And I'm still not sure who's getting Naruto, but I'm concidering making alternate endings. Hmmmm..... . Ohhh, I can't decide!!!  
  
LadyBLAdE - Yami Rin: I don't think he's screwy..... And I don't think we'll put him in other fics, not acting like that anyway....  
  
Lauren Williams - S.Naru: Ok.  
  
Chi - Rin: Of course it is!! We're weird, so of course our fic is gonna be weird!! Ugh bus.....  
  
Hoshii-Sama - Yami Rin: Thank you!! Very much! o^____^o Oh look, now I'm blushing!  
  
Saori-Hime - S.Naru: Gaara? Sexy?! Never thought about him like that..... Oh well, whatever floats your boat! o^.^o  
  
LadyRune - Rin: That's alwight, I'm all better now. And that little skit type thing's kinda funny!!  
  
Lucifer aka Lord of Darkness - Yami Rin: Cool name, first of all. And why? Because we ran out of ideas!!  
  
Oliver Luver - S.Naru: Thankies!! I am so cute, aren't I?  
  
Queen Hatshepsut II - Rin: I haven't worked on that in a while. Maybe I should? Maybe... *goes off to think*  
  
Dark Hunter - Yami Rin: Wow, we DIDN'T get threatened. When we first read this, we were like, "Awww, not another death threat!!", but then we read it over and we were like, "OHHHH, ok.". Weeh, we're the best!! I love you people..... Really, I do!!  
  
PinkDevil - S.Naru: Thank yoooooouuuu!!!!!  
  
Laceyleopard - Rin: Yes, we're believable!! If only we could lie to my mom like that about what happened to her favorite lamp that me and Yami Rin were playing tenis with, then we'd be set!! And don't worry, we're probably gonna have two endings, one for Gaara lovers and one for Sasuke lovers. So you don't have to worry about it.  
  
Anime Freak/Kichigai Ojousan - Yami Rin: Another cool name. Heh, we DID leave you all hanging, didn't we? Heh heh....  
  
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Rin: Yes, there you have it. The next chapter shall be out soon!!  
  
Yami Rin: Cuz we know exactly what we're gonna do!!!  
  
S.Naru: Yuppers!  
  
Rin: Til then, ciao!! And review!!!!!!!! 


	8. ch7

disclaimer : Not yet. Maybe not ever. ;__; Awww..... *sniff*  
  
A/N: Rin: Holy hells, this is longer then we thought it would be! It's like, gargantuan!!  
  
Yami Rin: o.O;; Ok.....  
  
S. Naru: Tee hee, Rin-chan is going crazy! :3  
  
Yami Rin: *pats his head* That she is, little Sissy-kun. That she is.  
  
Rin: I'm still in the ROOM you know!!!!! XDDD  
  
Yami Rin: *innocent whistle*  
  
Rin: Grrr......  
  
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Summary: Naruto is harassed by Gaara one day. Over the course of the following week, the panda-eyed boy doesn't let up, and is scaring Naruto just a little. Naruto goes to Sasuke, for an UNKNOWN (***!!!HINT!!!HINT!!!***) reason.  
  
Things to know: 1) The authoresses are crazy  
  
2) Naruto will be acting like a little girl in this fic (maybe)  
  
3) {blah blah} = author's notes  
  
4) "blah blah" = speech  
  
5) A lot of, /////'s = change of scene, or end of chapters  
  
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
WARNING!!!!!!!!!: THIS FIC WILL CONTAIN SHONEN AI IN LATER CHAPTERS!!! FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS, IT'S 'BOY LOVE'!!!!!!! SASUNARU AND ONE SIDED GAARA/NARUTO!!!!!!!!! WILL ALSO CONTAIN SLIGHT KAKAIRU!!!! MAYBE SOME GRAPHIC STUUF, TOO!!!!!!!!  
  
Warning2: There will be a lot of Gaara/Naruto scenes in this chappie. Just because we got a lotto reviews saying that they want Gaara to get some fluffy-ness in his life. Kay?? Kay!!! ^___^ Happy reading, fans of Gaara!!  
  
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Even The Cold Burns  
  
by RinKin and Yami Rin  
  
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Chapter Seven  
  
[Gaara's POV]  
  
I finally had the perfect plan in which to make Naruto mine. Kankuro and Temari would be of no use to me so I told them to fuck off.  
  
From what I saw and heard, Naruto was in love with Sasuke. Simply, all I had to do was transform into Sasuke and lead him somewhere off from the town so that no one could hear him scream.  
  
But. If Naruto was indeed smarter than he looked, which I knew he was, he may be able to sense that it's me. I had to be sure. For if he sensed me, he may yell and alert others that he is in danger. Or alert that bastard Sasuke of me. Then I would have no choice but to threaten Naruto's life, I do not wish to do so. Something so beautiful shouldn't be put into danger as often as my little fox is.  
  
After Naruto's meeting with my team mates he headed back to his own house. I grinned. Perfect. I could get him when he was at home yet again. My little one stopped when reaching for the doorknob, and drew his hand back. He seemed to contemplate for a moment before he turned around and headed in an entirely different direction.  
  
I swore. Where was he going? He couldn't possibly have sensed me; unless he truly IS better then I thought he was. I followed him.  
  
My slight chase lead me to another apartment building, although it wasn't the Uchiha's. The blonde started up a long set of stairs. It took him about three minutes to get to where he was going.  
  
He started banging loudly on the door, a huge smile on his face. He couldn't have sensed me then. Why would he be smiling if he sensed me? He was, apparently, afraid of me.  
  
When the door opened, my amai tackled the young man that came out. My eyes widened. It was the same man from the photograph that was at my sweet's house. I seethed in jealousy once again as the young man smiled back at the smiling Naruto that sat on top of him. He had his hands on MY Naruto's knees, resting them there, smile still broad. My own hand clenched in furry. Once I was done in this miserable village and back home, no one would touch Naruto like that except me. He was mine......  
  
I changed my position on the roof to get a better look at the two through the window. They sat down at a small kitchen table and started to speak. I only knew a bit on lip reading, but I think I understood their conversation pretty well.  
  
At one point my little one stuttered for a moment, a crimson blush staining his cheeks. My eyes softened as I saw him do this. He really was precious....  
  
I perked up again at the mention of "Sand-nin". They were discussing me. The young man nodded every so often, a small smile on his face. I scoffed. He would be the first to die when we Sand-nins took over, and Naruto was mine. He would never be able to so much as look at my precious little one again.  
  
Naruto kept speaking until the young man, still smiling that god-forsaken smile, stopped him and started to speak. He talked with such an affectionate look on his face that I thought he lusted after my little one as well. But his affection was only brotherly. It had better bloody well be brotherly, or he will die long before we Sand-nins take over.  
  
At what the young man said, my amai smiled so broadly that you would think he was the sun. He hugged the older man and left, waving the whole time. Now was my chance....  
  
I leapt down from the roof before Naruto could get to the bottom floor. I hid in the shadows of an alleyway and performed a simple "henge no jutsu". When the smoke cleared, I stood a slight bit taller then before, and black tendrils of hair cascaded down my face instead of crimson. I resisted the erge to glare down at myself. I was in the form of the one person I hated most.  
  
My sweet came down out of the apartment door a moment later, and started to run to, what I'm guessing, was the Uchiha's home. I needed to make my presence known. Quickly, I gathered a small amount of chakra in my hand and tossed it upward.  
  
He turned about and looked over at the alleyway shadows fearfully. His voice quaking slightly, he called out, "Yo!! Come out!! I know you're there!!". I moved forward out of the shadows and longingly stared him in the eyes, smiling. He stood there wide-eyed for a few moments before speaking again.  
  
"Sasuke?" he asked. I nodded then moved towards him a few steps. He didn't even flinch. Although I wasn't myself, it felt nice to not be flinched at when approaching him. He stood up straight, as if suddenly aware of the height difference between us.  
  
"What are you doing here??" he questioned. He laughed sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "I-I was just heading over to your place," he said. "I had something I wanted to, ahh... tell you." He looked up at me nervously. Was he just going to tell that son of a bitch that he loved him? I shook that thought from my head. No Gaara, I thought. You cannot think like that, he is yours, you made first claim on him. I smiled at him again and walked right up to him. I smiled down at him. He smiled back.  
  
I could see the love in his eyes. It made me sick to think that it was held for the Uchiha. But that would soon change...  
  
He looked down a slight bit to stare at my chin. "You see..." he started. "W-what I wanted to say was that... Well, the thing is-"  
  
He never got to finish that sequence of words because at that moment I couldn't resist any longer. I leaned my head down and caught his lips in a powerful kiss. My arms came up and wrapped around his waist and my lips moved to a fast rhythm against his. He was hesitant at first but he slowly started to kiss me back. His hands gripped onto my upper arms, ruffling the shirt. My tongue suddenly came to life and plunged into his mouth. He moaned and shyly ran his tongue under mine.  
  
Once again I was thrown head-first into heaven. How sweet his mouth tasted, almost like miso ramen. I wasn't that big on the noodles, but I think I can make an exception.  
  
I was the first to break the kiss, both of us panting for breath. His eyes were glazed over and he looked like the happiest person in the world. He smiled at me shyly. I would have never expected him to do anything shyly. For a second I almost forgot that he didn't know I was Gaara of the Sand. For a second I thought that he was actually kissing ME, and not what he thought was Uchiha Sasuke. For a second, I was truly happy, and I would do anything to stay that way. I knew that the only way I would be truly happy forever was to have him with me forever.  
  
He was the first to speak.  
  
"Sasuke... Does this mean that you-" Once again I cut him off. I placed a finger on his lips and he was silent. That same hand ran through his soft, jagged blonde hair. I grinned at him widely.  
  
"My sweet, sweet Naruto-kun..." I said softly. "If only you knew....." I bent down and licked the side of his face. He shivered.  
  
I released him slightly and grinned at him once again. "Can I show you something, Little One?" I asked.  
  
He smiled broadly at me. "Oh course!" he said cheerfully.  
  
With that said, I took him by the hand and started to lead him towards the entrance to the village. He didn't protest at all, that love-sick look on his face the whole time.  
  
I lead him even farther still; past the main gate to Konohagakure, out into the forest. We walked for about fifteen minutes before I finally stopped. I turned around to face him and he smiled at me.  
  
Still holding my hand, he spoke. "What did you wanna show me, Sasuke?"  
  
I dropped his hand and looked at the ground. "I didn't want anyone to over hear us..." I said quietly. I smirked when he was looking around at our surroundings. His adorable little blonde head shot from side to side as he took in the environment.  
  
"I don't think I've ever been here, Sasuke!" he exclaimed. He turned and looked at me. "Why did you wanna take me all the way out here? No one would have over heard us at your place, or my place...." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "So why DID you bring me all the way out here? I probably won't be able to find my way back without you after this!!"  
  
I smirked again. "That, my amai, is exactly the point."  
  
His ears perked up. "Amai?? Sasuke, since when do you call me swe-"  
  
I cut him off yet again with another kiss. I pushed him back up against a tree and continued on with the affectionate gesture. Once again my tongue was in his mouth, thoroughly exploring and tasting every inch of it. My hands trailed down his sides and his thighs. I took up kissing and sucking on his neck when I needed air. His breathing became erratic. His hands were on my shoulders trying to push me away from him, but I would not move.  
  
"S-Sasuke..!!" he moaned. "Y-yamero!!! Please, stop.....!! I don't want this so fast..!!!"  
  
Smirking, I pulled my head back up and looked him straight in the eyes. He looked gratefully at me.  
  
"Th-thank you, Sasuke...." He tried to move but I wouldn't let him. "S...Sasuke??"  
  
I moved my mouth so that it hovered by his ear. Whispering, I spoke to him. "You may not want it, Little One, but I really do. Quite a bit, actually. Because I'm not the Sasuke that you want me to be." A poof of smoke surrounded me and I was back in my normal form. I once again looked Naruto in the eyes.  
  
In his eyes was fear. Pure, untouched fear. Of me.  
  
"G-Gaara?!?" he exclaimed. "Wh-what the?!?!?! Lemme go!!!!" He started to struggle, trying to kick me in the legs and hit me with his small fists. I narrowed my eyes and took hold of his flailing fists and pressed my body right up to his. He gasped and looked away from me. His pupils were dilated and his eyes were wide. But he wouldn't look at me.  
  
I nuzzled my face into his neck affectionately. He whimpered.  
  
"Come now, amai, being mine won't be all that bad." He simply whimpered again. I don't think he liked the prospect of being mine. Oh well, he will have to get used to it.  
  
My hand trailed up his neck, whispering along it the sensitive skin. He involuntarily shivered. Using my thumb and forefinger, I pressed down swiftly and powerfully on a certain area, rendering him unconscious. He slumped over onto me. I threw him over my shoulder and proceeded to head on my way back home. But before I could get any more then two steps, a figure stepped in front of my path. His red and black eyes glared at me threateningly and spoke to me hatred that couldn't be measured.  
  
It was the real Uchiha Sasuke.  
  
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Rin: Wow, this is turning out like a soap opera!! Holy hells, I don't even watch soap operas!!!!! This's the most weird piece of shit EVER!!!  
  
Yami Rin: I don't know why, but we always do this thing where we have a cliffie and then in the next chappie we explain it and it goes all... like this. I really don't get it!  
  
S.Naru: ^ - ^ Oh well!! Yesh..... TIME FOR THE REVIEWS!!!!!!  
  
%%%%%%%%%%%  
  
Lacey Parker - Rin: Don't we all... If I could talk to any of MY teachers like that, they'd be either dead or drunk. And he is rather lucky in this fic, isn't he? Oh well.  
  
Cy - Yami Rin: Hey, everyone's a freak these days, so don't worry about it. Well, I think he sorta DID jump Naruto, almost.... Not quite but almost. And it is yummy, isn't it?? Yeesh.... ^____^ Thank you, I do my best with the angst!  
  
Red Rose - S.Naru: Sure thing!  
  
Lady Geuna - Rin: Really?! The first ever? And you like it?!? Holy hells, this is so cool!!  
  
dark vampire - Yami Rin: Yet another cool name. 0__0 Wow, someone loves me. That's a new concept for me. And we'll probably put in a lemon, later, when the guys get a bit older..... *snicker* Maybe.  
  
ginji-ban - S.Naru: Wow, that was alot of hugs!! ;3 I loved it! And update your fic soon, I wanna read more!!  
  
Morien Alexander - Rin: Hey, he's not a dork. He's just a.... okay he's a dork, but you're right, he is cute! o^__^o  
  
Ladyschumon - Yami Rin: X__x I think you shook the life outta me...... Agh....  
  
Chippy - S.Naru: *drools* Chocolate..... Sweet!! You know just what gets me going! Hyper-ness awaits!!!  
  
Beta 4 hire - Rin: Damn us? Damn us?! NOOO! Don't, we'll update, we'll update!! ^__^;;  
  
Kechia - Yami Rin: Ummm... Gomen, but I don't really get this review.... *sobs* I suck!!!  
  
Amphora - S.Naru: Uke-ish. That's gonna be my new word for the week!! Uke- ish.... Hah, that's really funny.... Wait a sec, you said I was uke?!? I am NOT the uke!! (Rin: Yes you are.)  
  
firedragon97 - Rin: We could of, but we wanted to keep this a semi-serious fic. ^__^;; It would have been extremely funny to see though. Maybe in another fic. Tee hee, I can just imagine it now! *snorts* If Naruto's mind wasn't already corrupted, then it is now!!  
  
Kameko-chan - Yami Rin: Well that chapter WAS for our pathetic plot line. Yes, but there's ALOT of Gaara this chapter. Heh heh heh...  
  
Akari - S.Naru: Really?? Well, happy belated birthday, Akari-chan!!  
  
Kami Beverly - Rin: Heh, yeesh two endings. Then no one will try to kill me!! *ducks under a desk*  
  
Laurne Williams - Yami Rin: *sigh* That he is....  
  
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Yami Rin: I don't really like this chapter.....  
  
Rin: Why?!?! o_O Is it because I hid your Gaara plushy that you just got?!?  
  
Yami Rin: No, and.... NANI!?!?!? YOU HID MY GAARA PLUSHIE?!?!!?! AND HERE WAS ME THINKING THAT S.NARU ATE IT!!!!!!  
  
S.Naru: Wah??? o__o;;  
  
Yami Rin: You shall DIE!!!! *throws a chair*  
  
Rin: *dodges chair and runs* Heh heh.... Anyways, REVIEW PWEASE!!!!!!!!!! ACK!!! *gets hit with a cow* WTF?!?  
  
S.Naru: O.O Wow, those two are a tab bit odd. *was a moment of smart-ness* Yesh, so go forth and review!! *cute face* Pwease?? :3 


	9. ch8

disclaimer : We want it for Christmas, but Mom said no....  
  
A/N: Rin: Yes, this is almost finished!! Sweet ass!!! ^____^  
  
Yami Rin: Yup, once this chapters done, we have the next one and then it's OVER!! Finished, fineto, mozelltof!!  
  
S. Naru: Tee hee, you got that from Dumb and Dumberer!! Wah, I love that movie.  
  
Rin: It is a good movie, idn't it? The first one was better though.... Tee hee, in the original, when he looked at the newspaper clipping, and went, "We've landed on the moon!!", I was rolling around on the floor laughing! *sighs* Oh, I love that movie....  
  
Yami Rin: Anyways.... Let's get on with the fic now.  
  
Rin: B-but we've been gone so long!! I cannot believe how many updates have been made since we were on vacation!! I had to go through about 8 pages of fiction to see all the updates!!  
  
S.Naru: But where we when almost made up for not seeing all the update was Disney World. Ahhh the sweet sweet life of Florida!! ;3  
  
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Summary: Naruto is harassed by Gaara one day. Over the course of the following week, the panda-eyed boy doesn't let up, and is scaring Naruto just a little. Naruto goes to Sasuke, for an UNKNOWN (***!!!HINT!!!HINT!!!***) reason.  
  
Things to know: 1) The authoresses are crazy  
  
2) Naruto will be acting like a little girl in this fic (maybe)  
  
3) {blah blah} = author's notes  
  
4) "blah blah" = speech  
  
5) A lot of, /////'s = change of scene, or end of chapters  
  
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
WARNING!!!!!!!!!: THIS FIC WILL CONTAIN SHONEN AI IN LATER CHAPTERS!!! FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS, IT'S 'BOY LOVE'!!!!!!! SASUNARU AND ONE SIDED GAARA/NARUTO!!!!!!!!! WILL ALSO CONTAIN SLIGHT KAKAIRU!!!! MAYBE SOME GRAPHIC STUUF, TOO!!!!!!!!  
  
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
Even The Cold Burns  
  
by RinKin and Yami Rin  
  
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
Chapter Eight  
  
[Sasuke's POV]  
  
How did I know that he was in danger? This I kept asking myself as I raced up with forested hillside, towards where my intuition was telling me Naruto was.  
  
I was sitting at home, trying to read (thoughts of the kiss still fresh in my mind) when I suddenly felt a chill run deep into my being. I was overcome with an image of Naruto, shackled to a wall, a hovering dark shadow looming over him. I glanced around to see if anyone was feeding me this vision but I could find none. All I knew at that moment was that my precious person was in danger.  
  
Rushing out of my house, I closed my eyes and concentrated on finding his chakra. I found it, heading up a hillside outside the village. I raced to get out there.  
  
I cursed myself because it took me well over ten minutes to find him. I got lost for a brief moment, but a moan drew my attention in the right direction. My ears perked up when they heard my own name.  
  
"S-Sasuke..!! Y-yamero!!! Please, stop.....!! I don't want this..!!!"  
  
My eyes widened. Me?! How could..?  
  
Gaara. He's doing this.  
  
I looked around a bit more and found Naruto. And Gaara as me. My eyes narrowed in rage as I saw what he was doing to my Naruto. I could feel the Sharingan in my eyes get ready for a battle. That bastard had NO right to be doing that to Naruto in MY body! He wasn't aloud to have Naruto pushed up to a tree like that.... And what the hell?!? Was Gaara kissing his neck?!? Holy hells, what does he think he is, seventeen?! I swear, that kid has the libido of a rabbit...  
  
The bastard finally removed his mouth from Naruto. Yet I still couldn't move until he was back in his original form. It would confuse Naruto to no end to think that there were two me's. And if Naruto had to pick one of us, that would be a predicament. Naruto sighed and offered a brief thanks. He tried to move, but my copy wouldn't let him. The blonde tenshi* looked fearful.  
  
Gaara/me smirked. "You may not want it, Little One, but I really do. Quite a bit, actually." Was he planning on raping Naruto?! He'd better not be, or there will be hell to pay..... The little shit will never get another chance to even LOOK at my Naruto-chan. I surprised myself. Chan?  
  
Gaara/me continued. "Because I'm not the Sasuke you want me to be." With a poof of smoke, Gaara was himself again, gourd strapped to his back and all.  
  
Naruto panicked. "G-Gaara?!? Wh-what the?!?!?! Lemme go!!!!" he cried. I wanted to move, oh how badly I wanted to, but my legs seemed frozen in place. Rage was shaped like flames around me as I witnessed Gaara rubbing his head into Naruto's neck. All I wanted to do at that moment was rip his head off and shove it up his ass but still I couldn't move. When Naruto whimpered, it had to be a god that held me back.  
  
He whispered something to my precious one causing him to whimper again. It added a fuel to the flame of rage. His hand seemed to ghost across the kitsune's neck, before pressing down swiftly. Naruto slumped over and Gaara simply threw him over his shoulder and stared to move even further away from the village.  
  
I finally ripped my legs from the ground and shot out to stand in front of Gaara, blocking his path. I glared at him, knowing that my Sharingan was plainly visible.  
  
I growled. "Put him down, Gaara."  
  
"Let's think on that...." he sneered at me. "Never. He's mine." His one arm around Naruto seemed to tighten its grip.  
  
"He is NOT yours, nor will he ever be." I moved to a fighting position and readied for battle. "I told you that if you touched him again, you wouldn't live to see another day."  
  
He snorted. "Are you threatening me?" He laughed, as if the very idea was funny.  
  
I glared hard. "Don't take me lightly. Or I'll kick your ass."  
  
He stopped laughing and glared back. He moved Naruto into his arms and set him down softly on a patch of moss. He didn't want to move his fingers it seemed, but he wouldn't touch Naruto again after this night. He stood up again and faced me. He glanced at Naruto again then moved away again. I took one last glance at Naruto as well, before following him deep into the forest.  
  
"I do not wish to disturb the Sweet One," I heard Gaara say softly. I could understand that; Naruto looked like a tenshi when he slept.  
  
We walked a ways before he turned and looked at me in the eyes. "If you wish to fight me, we will have a battle to the death." He smirked. "Unless Naruto doesn't mean all that much to you and you're afraid. Because in that case, I think I'll just take Naruto back to the Sand with me now. Screw the chuunin exam, I can take it next year."  
  
"Enough talk," I stated. I wanted Gaara dead NOW. I didn't want him to still be alive when Naruto awoke. After this fight I would take Naruto home and tell him how I feel. Then I would apologize to him for not keeping my promise to protect him.  
  
I fell into a back stance and faced him, glaring. He too fell into a fighting stance, an odd one in which I have never seen before. He was in a forward stance, yet his hands were in shudo's (A/N: kinda like when you go to chop something). I shook my head and lunged towards him with killer intent. I aimed a punch at his head but he blocked it.  
  
Suddenly, we were off, kicking and punching each other like there was no tomorrow. Finally, after many a blocks and punches, I managed to land a kick to his side. What I thought was his side anyway. As I looked closely, I saw a small layer of sand covering the place where my foot connected, almost, with his side. He smirked at me and motioned to his gourd with an elbow. My eyes widened. The sand came from inside the gourd on his back!!  
  
Using my super speed, I got to face his back and aimed a kick at the clay jar strapped to his back. He blocked the strike, but jumped away from me to glare. His eyes told me to back the fuck off, but of course I wouldn't now that I knew how important it is to him.  
  
We kept on fighting and I kept on trying to smash that gourd. But everytime I would get close, he would block the attack and get even more pissed off. He managed to land a punch right to my jaw, which made it crack. I stumbled backwards. I put my hand to my jaw and felt a warm liquid. Pulling my hand back I saw that it was blood. My blood. Damn!  
  
I lunged at him again and again aimed a kick at his gourd. He once again blocked it and turned to punch me in the face. I knocked his hand out of the way and kicked him in the chest. He seemed winded so I hit him on the back of the neck with a fist. He swayed forward and fell to his knees. I moved to hit him on the back but his hand came up and grabbed my wrist. He then stood up and flung me across the clearing. I grunted as I hit the ground.  
  
My right leg nearly gave way as I got up. I couldn't go down now! I couldn't let Naruto down like that, I HAD to keep fighting, if not for myself then for him! I love him.  
  
Vigor renewed, I lunged forward again. My arm came out to strike Gaara but he swerved out of the way. I cursed him.  
  
He landed another hit to my face. My jaw felt like it was going to fall off, but I didn't care. All that mattered was winning this fight so I could finally tell Naruto. I had to tell him, so I couldn't die!! I wouldn't die.... I still had to kill my brother as well. I couldn't let that go either.  
  
Another burst of speed came to me, and I don't think he was expecting it. The look on his face proved that. I got behind him again and managed to land a kick to his gourd. It made a sickening cracking sound. Gaara froze and looked back over his shoulder to where I kicked that fruit shaped thing. I was surprised to see a large crack forming, small pieces falling from it.  
  
Gaara looked homicidal.  
  
He came at me like a rabid wolf. His eyes started to sprout tiny veins, and he snarled as he lunged at me. He grabbed me by the throat and picked me up off my feet. His eyes never left mine as he spoke to me menacingly.  
  
"Never touch this gourd, EVER!!" he snarled. "Just for that, I am going to make your precious Naruto suffer. As much as I love him, I love watching you writhe even more...."  
  
My eyes widened and I kicked at his arm. He dropped me and punched him in the face. "Don't you ever threaten Naruto in front of me. You don't really love him; he's just an obsession of yours, something that you wish to possess. An obsession that will end NOW!" I went to punch but it got deflected.  
  
He held onto my arm as his foot came upward towards my chest.  
  
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*= angel  
  
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A/N: Rin: I know, I know, bad cut off, but now!! We need YOU guys to vote on who you want to win this fight!!! A fight scene which sucked major ass, by the way....  
  
Yami Rin: Yup, but vote anyway. Vote either Sasuke, Gaara, or both. Because either way, whichever one you read, one of em is going to die. Yup yup, that's a fact.  
  
Rin: If you vote both it'll be cuz you want to see both of the endings which we'll post if you do so request.  
  
S.Naru: That's sounds like something she'd say... *points to Yami*  
  
Rin: *shrug* Oh well! I said it, and it's too late to take it back!! *raspberry* :P  
  
Yami Rin: Ok....  
  
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%  
  
Alej Alenka A. - Rin: Yes, Gaara pride! More Gaara EVERYWHERE!!!! *coughs* You love the fic? YEAH!!! I have support!! Awesome!!!  
  
Inuyasha's Kitty - Yami Rin: Yes, Gaara touched you, and if I have my way he'll be touching you a lot more if you get my drift. And yes, I am evil.....  
  
Lauren Williams - S.Naru: Yes, yes he is. The stupid sonnava-!!! (Rin: WATCH YOUR MOUTH!) Eh heh heh... Whoops....  
  
Silverdrake - Rin: I hate cliffies too, but we just have a nack for the little bastards......  
  
sarahchan/ another one - Yami Rin: Tell me about it.... I nearly had a heart attack the other day cuz of Rin and her fluff-ness!!! I hate fluff, but then again, I am the angsty one. *shrug* Go figure.  
  
Jounin Blade - S.Naru: Thankies!!  
  
Kyuubi no Kitsune - Rin: Yay, you write one of my favorite fics!!! TWO of my favorite fics!!! I want you to update!! UPDATE!!!! On 'Love Management'!!! I wuv that fic..... And how can you say that you have no plot?! I think your plots RULE!!!! Anyways, UPDATE!!!! I wanna know what happens...... *sniff*  
  
Asuka - Yami Rin: We like het. pairings too. Tee hee, the Gaara one IS written and I AM reading it over and over and over!! And soon you will too!!! Yeah, everybody love Gaara and vote for him!!!! Twahahahahahaha!!!!! And thank you, we did try to make him a tad bit less obsessed, but then again, this is SASUKE'S chapter so.......  
  
MeGs- YAFP - S.Naru: I like your penname!!! And what do you mean 'FINISH'?!?! And all stories should be SasuNaru.  
  
Kechia - Rin: No worries, I hardly understand anything. The end? I like the middle! Neither can I, I hope he does something good!!! Wait.....  
  
Beta 4 Hire - Yami Rin: I don't know..... Why do we?? Something to ponder on one dark stormy night...  
  
Amphora - S.Naru: I'm not uke..... *sniff* But I guess if I'm Sasuke's uke then it's alright. I s'pose. Sasuke: Of course it's alright!!! Bloody well be....  
  
Chippy - Rin: (S.Naru: I get more chocolate!!! *drools*) Heh, I wouldn't give him that, but I'm not you so.... Go ahead you crazy peeps!! You don't have to take the sugarfits........  
  
Silver Neo - Yami Rin: I know you wouldn't Gaara, but come on.... It's for fictional purposes!! I swear!!!!  
  
firedragon 97 - S.Naru: He did have to stoop low. What a loner!! (Gaara: I can't help it..... *sniff*)  
  
Ladyschumon - Rin: You almost killed my yami. *silence* Good job! ^_________^ And you get to snog him never!! He's mine!!!!!!!! *snogs Naru* Hssssss..................... *cough hack* Sorry......  
  
Muchacha - Yami Rin: Sad, isn't it? Oh well, depending on how peeps vote, Sasuke may get to confess yet! ^___^  
  
Milo 10 - S.Naru: Funny?? I don't think me almost getting molested was part of the job description!!! *glare to Rin*  
  
Kate Tully - Rin: I know, it's like no one cares to update fics anymore!! Well, I'm updating now, gawd damnit!!!  
  
ninetails2 - Yami Rin: The best?? Oh yeah, we rule!!  
  
Ginji-ban - S.Naru: *squecks in delight* Glad you like it!! We wuvs yooooouuuu~!!! ^_______~^______^ 


	10. epilogue Sasuke won, the sonnava

disclaimer : Yes, yes we do own it!! *sees lawyers with sharp things* NO!!! No we don't!!!  
  
A/N: Rin: This is the end, dear friends. I am terribly sorry for any inconvenience that I have caused to you with this.  
  
Yami Rin: oO;; You make this sound like some sorta eulogies. This's trippy....  
  
S. Naru: Yup. Who died??  
  
Rin: *coughs* No one!!! Jebus, I was just having a little fun for the last and final chapter of this thing!!!  
  
Yami Rin: You call that fun? I thought you were having a seizure or something! ----.....---- I can't believe we share a mind....  
  
Rin: Shut up!! *sniff* I just wanted to have some fun....  
  
S.Naru: *pat on the back to Rin* Oh well, RinKin, oh well. Get on with the fic, child!  
  
Rin: o_O;;; Who the hell are YOU to call ME child?!?  
  
S.Naru: *shrug* ;3 *cute face*  
  
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Summary: Naruto is harassed by Gaara one day. Over the course of the following week, the panda-eyed boy doesn't let up, and is scaring Naruto just a little. Naruto goes to Sasuke, for an UNKNOWN (***!!!HINT!!!HINT!!!***) reason.  
  
Things to know: 1) The authoresses are crazy  
  
2) Naruto will be acting like a little girl in this fic (maybe)  
  
3) {blah blah} = author's notes  
  
4) "blah blah" = speech  
  
5) A lot of, /////'s = change of scene, or end of chapters  
  
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
WARNING!!!!!!!!!: THIS FIC WILL CONTAIN SHONEN AI IN LATER CHAPTERS!!! FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS, IT'S 'BOY LOVE'!!!!!!! SASUNARU AND ONE SIDED GAARA/NARUTO!!!!!!!!! WILL ALSO CONTAIN SLIGHT KAKAIRU!!!! MAYBE SOME GRAPHIC STUUF, TOO!!!!!!!!  
  
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Even The Cold Burns  
  
by RinKin and Yami Rin  
  
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
Chapter Nine  
  
[Sasuke's POV]  
  
His foot was just about to make contact with my chest but I fell to the ground, purposely, and his foot barely skimmed my hair. I immediately got up and did three back flips to make a bit of a distance between us. He still looked like he was about to explode. Shit, I hope he didn't try that "Desert Coffin" on me, 'cause that would be a hell of a thing to get out of.  
  
He lunged at me with killer intent and hit me square in the face yet again. I stumbled back a few inches. I had heard my jaw crack with a resounding 'pop'. He lunged again and I barely evaded. He was getting faster. But how?!  
  
I got a glimpse of his eyes and was surprised to NOT see the cold aquamarine, but a deep blood red. I vein was protruding through from his temple and he was glaring at me, eyes wide. At this rate, he would beat me and take Naruto back to the Sand with him....  
  
No!! Shut up Sasuke, don't think like that! He will NEVER have Naruto. I will die first.  
  
I ran at him and punched him right in the stomach. His ever plentiful sand didn't appear to protect him this time. I was surprised but none the less continued to elbow Gaara in the face. His head went backwards but his body only budged the smallest bit. My eyes widened when his head snapped back into place, a wicked sneer on his face. What the hell?! He wasn't even fazed?!?  
  
I just barely got out of the way of a rather nasty backslap to the face. If he kept on beating me like this, I wouldn't have enough chakra left to do anything! Damnit!! I had to do something to end this fast. An idea came to me. Raikiri no jutsu. That could kill him or at least stop him for awhile. Hopefully kill him.  
  
I summoned up all the chakra I had left in my body and focused on the jutsu. Gaara, realizing what I was about to do, ran at me with the intent to finish me off. He was about three feet from me when I cried out, "Raikiri no jutsu!!".  
  
The bolt of lightning hit him with a rather loud impact, sending me back a few feet. I stumbled to the ground and watched as the lightning ran through his body, his clothing fraying and hair becoming singed. His head turned in an odd direction, towards the moss patch where Naruto lay, still unconscious. His teeth clenched and his eyes closed. Then the lightning stopped.  
  
Gaara fell to the ground in a heap, a fried silent heap.  
  
I let out a long sigh; he was finally dead. I stood up and kicked the lifeless body. If he was really dead, he wouldn't try to retaliate. He didn't. Good.  
  
I sighed again, this time with a good feeling. A feeling that I would be happy for a long time now. At least somewhat.  
  
Slowly, I walked over to the moss patch that Naruto lay in. He was in the same position only snoring slightly. I smiled. How cute. I bent down and picked him up, carrying him bridal style back to the village.  
  
@&@&@&@&@&@&@&@&@***Epilogue***@&@&@&@&@&@&@&@&@  
  
4 YEARS LATER.........  
  
[3rd Person POV]  
  
Snow fell lightly onto the window sill that was being watched by joyful blue eyes. The blonde boy of whom they belonged was gazing out the window in the same fashion that he had been for a while now. The whisker-like markings on his face crinkled slightly as he smiled, a wide, beautiful smile.  
  
Behind him, his lover watched him with adoring onyx eyes. The small smile on his face shown now more often then it used to.  
  
"Naruto," Sasuke called out. "Come on, Sakura and Kakashi are almost here. I think I can hear their stomachs from here." He walked up to the sixteen year old boy in front of him and hugged him around the waist. "Come on, koi, you have to help me get Christmas dinner ready."  
  
The blonde turned around and wrapped him arms around the taller boy, gazing at him. The years had been kind to him, as he had grown about eight inches, {A/N: which makes him about 5' 7"} and he still had his pale completion. He let his hair grow out a bit and still had a lean, strong form.  
  
Naruto on the other hand hadn't grown as much, only about six inches {A/N: so he's about 5'4"} and kept his hair the same length. His frame was still small and slightly feminine, made even more so with growth. His sky blue eyes were only the slightest bit wiser.  
  
He leaned up suddenly, kissing Sasuke straight on the lips. The older boy responded immediately. With the highly decorated Christmas tree in the background, it looked picture perfect.  
  
The kiss broke a few moments later and Sasuke rested his forehead to Naruto's.  
  
"Merry Christmas Naru-kun," he said softly, smiling.  
  
Naruto smiled too. "Merry Christmas, Sasu-kun, merry Christmas!"  
  
And again soft lips met each other............  
  
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////~OWARI~/// ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
A/N: Rin: Oh gawd, it's OVER!!!! Finished!! Yeah!!! But I got lots of love so I'm happy!!  
  
Yami Rin: At the same time it's sad..... And so am I.  
  
S.Naru: *sniff* Me too... *sob* *huggles Sasuke*  
  
Rin: ^___^;; Anyway, hope you liked the whole thing and see ya again later!! *waves* Bye!!!  
  
Yami Rin: Yes, as we will come out with more stuff in the future. Hopefully. Good bye, dear friends! We shall see you again soon!!  
  
S.Naru: *sniff* BYE!!! *sob* 


	11. epilogue 2 alternate ending

disclaimer : Yes, yes we do own it!! sees lawyers with sharp things NO!!! No we don't!!!  
  
A/N: Inari: We've decided to post the other ending for this.  
  
Yami Rin: Yes, so enjoy!! XDD  
  
S.Naru: Tee hee, yes, please do!  
  
Summary: Naruto is harassed by Gaara one day. Over the course of the following week, the panda-eyed boy doesn't let up, and is scaring Naruto just a little. Naruto goes to Sasuke, for an UNKNOWN (!!!HINT!!!HINT!!!) reason.  
  
Things to know: 1) The authoresses are crazy  
  
2) Naruto will be acting like a little girl in this fic (maybe)  
  
3) {blah blah} = author's notes  
  
4) "blah blah" = speech  
  
5) A lot of, 's = change of scene, or end of chapters  
  
WARNING!!!!!!!!!: THIS FIC WILL CONTAIN SHONEN AI IN LATER CHAPTERS!!! FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS, IT'S 'BOY LOVE'!!!!!!! SASUNARU AND ONE SIDED GAARA/NARUTO!!!!!!!!! WILL ALSO CONTAIN SLIGHT KAKAIRU!!!! MAYBE SOME GRAPHIC STUUF, TOO!!!!!!!!  
  
Warning2: Yami Rin: This chapter has a bit (make that a lot) more graphic stuff then usual. No, there's no sex, but there's a bit of a lime. At the end. Okay? Perfect!! Just wanted to make that crystal clear....  
  
Even The Cold Burns  
  
by Inari and Yami Rin  
  
Chapter Nine  
  
[Gaara's POV]  
  
My leg came up and nailed him straight in the chest. That stupid boy who dared touch my gourd!! He had no idea of who he was dealing with....  
  
The force of my kick sent him flying through the air. He it a nearby tree and started to choke. I raised a confused eyebrow as the look on his face changed to one of extreme pain. He pushed himself off of the tree and fell to the ground. I noticed with extreme satisfaction that he had a large sized hole in his lower back. I looked to the tree to see that blood covered a rather large, and rather sharp broken off branch.  
  
He slumped over further onto the ground and blood continued to poor out of the wound. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he didn't have much longer to live. I had seen that look all too often.  
  
I crouched down beside him and spoke as he glanced at me weakly.  
  
"Do not worry," I said, grinning like the madman I was. "I shall take excellent care of Naruto and make sure that he never leaves my sight. Because no one shall ever touch him again once I return home." I ruffled his hair, as you would a small child, and stood up to leave.  
  
I took one step before I felt a hand lightly grip my ankle. I looked down to see that Uchiha had somehow managed to find that strength to lift his arm and grab me. I scoffed at him.  
  
"D....don't you.... touch N...Naruto..!!!" he choked out.  
  
I laughed and kicked his arm off of my leg. Such a foolish boy. "I will touch MY Naruto however I may wish to." I mocked him and he knew it. I could tell by the look in his eyes. I walked off to the moss patch that I left my kitsune in and slowly picked the smaller boy up. My hand ran longingly down his thigh as I picked up his legs. No. I had to wait.  
  
Throwing him over my shoulder, I headed back onto my path.  
  
Before I made it too far, I heard a strangled, "Naru..to...!!". I glanced back at him to see him fall face first to the dirt.  
  
I kept on walking.  
  
&&&&&&&&Epilogue&&&&&&&&  
  
4 YEARS LATER.........  
  
[3rd Person POV]  
  
The blonde sixteen year old lay there, lithe, small, naked body half covered by blankets. His sky blue eyes were closed in sleep, as he dreamt of better days, when the boy he loved was still with him. The whisker-like scars on his cheeks were ever so noticeable, and if one looked hard enough one could see the side of something like a seal present around his navel.  
  
A door slamming woke the whiskered boy with a start. Slowly, he sat up, fleetingly hoping to see a crop of raven hair, but saw only crimson. His hope died yet again.  
  
Gaara walked with pride down into his rather large room. His father had died the year before, in a rather unfortunate "accident" and it was now up to Gaara to rule over the Sand as the Kazekage. His eyes fell upon the golden haired wonder that sat up in his bed, lean arms barely supporting him. The red-head smiled tenderly at his beautiful lover and made his way over to the bed. He sat down on the edge of the black silk sheets.  
  
He reached out a large hand and stroked the other's face softly. Naruto didn't flinch; he had stopped flinching a long time ago.  
  
"Sorry I'm late, amai," Gaara said, still smiling. "But there was something that needed my full attention, and it couldn't wait. Amai, look at me." He gripped the kitsune's chin between his fingers and turned his face to his own. He placed his lips over the soft pink ones presented to him.  
  
Slowly, Gaara's hand left Naruto's chin and trailed down his neck. He pushed Naruto back onto the bed and continued to kiss him. Naruto kissed back hungrily, accepting all the affection that he was getting. It was the ONLY affection he got. None of his friends had bothered to come look for him, and neither had Sasuke....  
  
Inside he flinched at that name. He had loved Sasuke, and still did, but why hadn't he come to get him yet? Didn't he know where he was? It should have been pretty obvious. He didn't understand..... The last time he had seen Sasuke, the real Sasuke, had been after that weed-pulling mission and their kiss.  
  
Naruto lay still as Gaara started to kiss and suck his way down his neck. He put his hands onto Gaara's shoulders, fingers digging into the older boys shoulder blades, silently egging him on. He closed his eyes and envisioned that it was Sasuke of whom was making him feel so much pleasure. That it was Sasuke of whom was groping his hips so tightly, Sasuke who was biting into his shoulder and marking him as his own. No one else would own a place in his heart so large.  
  
His eyes shot open and his back arched when a warm hand was tightly gripping his thigh. He looked at Gaara and saw the love and lust in his eyes and leaned up to kiss him. If Gaara wanted his heart so badly then he could have it; Naruto was through waiting for Sasuke to save him. He should have come by now. The blonde would always love him but if Sasuke didn't want him back....  
  
His smaller hands almost ripped Gaara's clothing off of the older teen. They were both nude and still kissing and groping like mad when one of Gaara's hands went southward. Naruto gasped and arched into the touch. Warm tears flowed down pink cheeks.  
  
It was the start of something beautiful.......  
  
OWARI  
  
A/N: Inari: Well, that was it. Hope you enjoyed it!!  
  
Yami Rin: Review!!  
  
S.Naru: Ahh, short, sweet, and straight to the point! BYE!! Hope you enjoyed! 


End file.
